Prostration

Salam alaikom! Since my trip to Central America, I have been thinking a lot about interfaith dialogue....ah who am I kidding? I have always been interested in this. I can say however that my experience as the only Muslim among a very diverse group of classmates in Central America during my study there was a great source of inspiration to me regarding interfaith relations. I spent most of the time on this trip with a Mormon and a Jew, Arilev and El Cole, respectively. It was a stark contrast from my surroundings just before this trip living in Kuwait for almost a year. I had the opportunity to speak with most of the students at one point or another to address questions they had about Islam. At one point along this educational journey, I was asked by my friend if it is possible for one to be a Jewish Muslim. It was coming from someone who had always asked me thoughtful and profound questions, the ones we never think to ask. He is one of those who reflect, that is for sure. He was the first person to ever ask me about how I pray and what I pray about, but that is a whole different topic. The first thing that came to my mind when he asked me about being a Jewish Muslim, was what it means to be Muslim. A Muslim is one who submits completely to Allah, while Islam means submission to Allah. I told him based on that I would think that it is possible for that. Here's just one example for you: Jesus! So there you go. But being the inquisitive and intelligent individual that Arilev is, he had yet another good question to ask. He asked, would a Jewish Muslim have to prostrate in prayer? I thought to myself, well this is a part of what the prophets (pbut) did in worship to Allah and a very natural position for our bodies when we worship Allah, but I think the bottom line is to obey Allah and believe in only one God. But it prompted me to look further into why Muslims prostrate in prayer and here is what I have found until now.
Turns out there is an entire chapter in the Quran given the title "the prostration," in Arabic, "A-Sajda." Chapter number 32
Here is a verse from it in different translations:
032.015
YUSUFALI: Only those believe in Our Signs, who, when they are recited to them, fall down in prostration, and celebrate the praises of their Lord, nor are they (ever) puffed up with pride.
PICKTHAL: Only those believe in Our revelations who, when they are reminded of them, fall down prostrate and hymn the praise of their Lord, and they are not scornful,
SHAKIR: Only they believe in Our communications who, when they are reminded of them, fall down in prostration and celebrate the praise of their Lord, and they are not proud.

032.016
YUSUFALI: Their limbs do forsake their beds of sleep, the while they call on their Lord, in Fear and Hope: and they spend (in charity) out of the sustenance which We have bestowed on them.
PICKTHAL: Who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope, and spend of that We have bestowed on them.
SHAKIR: Their sides draw away from (their) beds, they call upon their Lord in fear and in hope, and they spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them.

032.017
YUSUFALI: Now no person knows what delights of the eye are kept hidden (in reserve) for them - as a reward for their (good) deeds.
PICKTHAL: No soul knoweth what is kept hid for them of joy, as a reward for what they used to do.
SHAKIR: So no soul knows what is hidden for them of that which will refresh the eyes; a reward for what they did.

032.018
YUSUFALI: Is then the man who believes no better than the man who is rebellious and wicked? Not equal are they.
PICKTHAL: Is he who is a believer like unto him who is an evil-liver? They are not alike.
SHAKIR: Is he then who is a believer like him who is a transgressor? They are not equal.

032.019
YUSUFALI: For those who believe and do righteous deeds are Gardens as hospitable homes, for their (good) deeds.
PICKTHAL: But as for those who believe and do good works, for them are the Gardens of Retreat - a welcome (in reward) for what they used to do.
SHAKIR: As for those who believe and do good, the gardens are their abiding-place; an entertainment for what they did.

032.023
YUSUFALI: We did indeed aforetime give the Book to Moses: be not then in doubt of its reaching (thee): and We made it a guide to the Children of Israel.
PICKTHAL: We verily gave Moses the Scripture; so be not ye in doubt of his receiving it; and We appointed it a guidance for the Children of Israel.
SHAKIR: And certainly We gave the Book to Musa, so be not in doubt concerning the receiving of it, and We made it a guide for the children of Israel.

032.024
YUSUFALI: And We appointed, from among them, leaders, giving guidance under Our command, so long as they persevered with patience and continued to have faith in Our Signs.
PICKTHAL: And when they became steadfast and believed firmly in Our revelations, We appointed from among them leaders who guided by Our command.
SHAKIR: And We made of them Imams to guide by Our command when they were patient, and they were certain of Our communications.

032.025
YUSUFALI: Verily thy Lord will judge between them on the Day of Judgment, in the matters wherein they differ (among themselves)
PICKTHAL: Lo! thy Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they used to differ.
SHAKIR: Surely your Lord will judge between them on the day of resurrection concerning that wherein they differ.

So what I am beginning to see is that while prostration physically feels like a natural part of worship and what our bodies incline to do, and besides, who wouldn't automatically fall to their knees in the presence of the All-mighty? I know I would be inclined to as I did so even as a Christian. But this prostration before Allah and for the sake of Allah, does not necessarily mean prostration in a strictly literal or only physical sense. It is a prostration more of the spirit and our humility and submission to and total adoration of the one God. So while some may do it only partially in bowing or bending over, while others with there head to a rug, and still others with their head only in direct prostration to the earth, it is all a matter of the intention of the heart. It is clear that the prophets understood the deeper meaning of sujood (prostration), that it went beyond physical ritual even if they did it physically, what is more certain is that it was from within. Thanks again to my kindred soul I discovered the beauty of prostration at an even deeper level. Sujood can also be a physical manifestation of acceptance, acceptance to God's command, to His authority over our life, to His will and His plan and his majesty.

More examples of prostration from the Holy Quran:

"To GOD prostrates (Yasjud) everything in the heavens and everything on earth- every creature-and so do the angels; without the least arrogance." (16:49)

Here again is an example of humility and submission, and this "prostration" is done by all, and it shows it has a deeper meaning than what we typically see as prostration, a simple body movement done many times throughout salat.

It is interesting to note that Allah makes no exceptions or allowances for excluding prostration during prayer as he does regarding fasting or cleansing (Ablution, wudhu), pilgrimage, etc... (ablution 5:6, fasting 2:184, shaving ones head during pilgrimage 2:196, placing weapons on the ground during wartime Salat 4:102). So if it really is just a physical action, then what if a person becomes sick? Allah does provide allowance for the person in that case to perform Salat standing, sitting, or lying down...But there has been NO exception for a person from prostrating and this could likely be because it is not necessarily a physical element.

[Ha Mim Sajdah 41:37] Among His proofs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not prostrate before the sun, or the moon; you shall fall prostrate before Allah who created them, if you truly worship Him alone.

Here prostration connotes ultimate worship and adoration to only God and no other. It is clear that here there is some figurative commentary here, using the sun and moon to indicate that we are not to get down on the ground bowing before physical creations with the idea that we are actually worshiping God through this act. He could have picked any pagan idols as examples but since the sun and moon are always out, then it could even mean in one way or another we are prostrating towards them and we should only prostrate to God. So how do I do this you ask? Well, if prostration is a symbol of showing honor, humility, submission, obedience and adoration, then we can prostrate by obeying God and submitting to his will. This is the actual prostration we can show to God and do for Him.

In support of the theory I mentioned about bowing physically can relate to the sun and moon, let's take a look at the story of Prophet Suleiman (pbuh):

"He (Suleiman) inspected the birds, and noted: 'Why do I not see the hoopoe? Why is he missing? 'I will punish him severely or sacrifice him, unless he gives me a good excuse. He did not wait for long. (The hoopoe) said: 'I have news that you do not have. I brought to you from Sheba, some important information. I found a woman ruling them, who is blessed with everything, and possesses a tremendous palace. I found her and her people prostrating before the sun, instead of GOD. The devil has adorned their works in their eyes, and has repulsed them from the path; consequently, they are not guided. " (27:20-24)

Although we can be quite sure that this was a very 'intillegent' bird...he still did not command the ability to understand human speech (only Suleiman was given this gift 27:16). Thus, it becomes apparent that the bird understood what the Queen of Sheba and her people were doing by sheer 'observation'. So, what did he observe?. We are told that he observed them 'prostrating' before th sun...this would indicate that the bird witnessed a 'physical 'prostration by Sheba during the day and knew it had to be to the Sun (prostration to GOD is to follow His will).

[al-Mursalat 77:47] Ah woe, that Day, to the Rejectors of Truth!

[al-Mursalat 77:48] And when it is said to them, "Prostrate yourselves!" they do not so.

Many Muslims, some Christians, and even some Jews and others prostrate physically on the ground, yet not all are followers of Truth or submissive to Allah. So this CANNOT be what Allah is asking of us, and even if prostration is God it must be through the right intention, and the true prostration must be in obedience to Allah and humility of spirit.

The meaning of Bow and Prostrate

[al-Hajj 22:18] Seest thou not that to God bow down in worship all things that are in the heavens and on earth, the sun, the moon, the stars; the hills, the trees, the animals; and a great number among mankind? But a great number are such as are fit for Punishment: and such as God shall disgrace, none can raise to honour: for God carries out all that He wills.

The above verse lists other physical entities that bow to Allah. This list includes earth, sun, moon, stars, hills, trees, and animals. Has anyone ever seen any of these creations bow and prostrate on the ground (animals excluded)? These verses are instructing us to think on a higher level. Or should I say these AYAAT (signs) are pointing us to something higher.

Remember when Prophet Yousef (pbuh) (Joseph) had his dream that the stars were prostrating to him? Well, he realized it was his family who would later in his life prostrate to him. But did they literally? No. They prostrated in the form of humbling themselves before him for what they had done, and bowed in the form of submitting to him and to give him his honor as a respected brother, son, good Muslim, and just leader of Egypt appointed by the Pharoah.

Take a look at the second half of this verse which describes those who do not bow to Allah.

[al-Hajj 22:18] ...But a great number are such as are fit for Punishment: and such as God shall disgrace, none can raise to honour: for God carries out all that He wills.

What reason is someone fit for punishment? Would a person who believes in Allah alone, The Last Day, and lives righteously be punished for not getting on the ground? Before answering recall this verse.

[al-Baqarah 2:62] Those who believe, and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Nazerenes (pure form of Christainity) and the Sabians,- any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

No, not all of the mentioned people bow and prostrate on the ground. Will they be punished? No, it is the people who do not SUBMIT to Allah and FOLLOW HIS COMMANDS that will deserve His punishment.

The verses on the angels give us a definition of Prostrate.

[al-Kahf 18:50] We said to the angels, "Fall prostrate before Adam." They fell prostrate, except Satan. He was of the jinn, and he disobeyed the order of His Lord. Will you choose him and his descendants as lords instead of Me, even though they are your enemies? What a miserable substitute!

The above verse explains to us that prostrating before Allah (who cannot be compared to His physical creation) , is obeying His commands! This is what the angels were commanded to do in respect to Adam (mankind) The Angels serve man by Allah's command, it is Iblis who disobeyed the order of His Lord. When Allah asked the angels to prostrate, He was telling them to OBEY HIS COMMANDS regarding Adam. There is no need to get on the ground to worship your Lord because He has not commanded us to do this. If you do it, then great if that is out of your spirit's yearning to fall before him. But more importantly, He wants us to Bow and Prostrate our WILLS to that of HIS WILL.

[al-Baqarah 2:133] Were ye witnesses when death appeared before Jacob? Behold, he said to his sons: "What will ye worship after me?" They said: "We shall worship Thy God and the God of thy fathers, of Abraham, Isma'il and Isaac, the one God: To Him we bow."

[Al-Imran 3:43.7] "O Mary! Worship thy Lord devoutly: Prostrate thyself, and bow down with those who bow down."

The believers are not followers of an "organized religion" but people who follow the ONE SYSTEM which the true teachings these "organized religions" came from and point to. That system is Islam, complete submission to the one God.

There is of course actual clear physical prostration defined in the Quran as well, but usually regarding human interactions, but in this case the word to prostrate would almost always be followed by the word "Khar'a" (to fall down), to let us know that it is physical prostration. If sujood actually meant to physically fall to your face before something or someone, why would Allah feel the need to add Khar'a right after sujood? There would be no need to if sujood meant the phyiscal prostration literally.

[Yusuf 12:100] And he raised his parents high on the throne, and they fell down in prostration, before him. He said: "O my father! this is the fulfillment of my vision of old! God hath made it come true! He was indeed good to me when He took me out of prison and brought you (all here) out of the desert, (even) after Satan had sown enmity between me and my brothers. Verily my Lord understands best the mysteries of all that He plans to do, for verily He is full of knowledge and wisdom.

[al-A`raf 7:120] But the sorcerers fell down prostrate in adoration.

[Sad 38:24] (David) said: "He has undoubtedly wronged thee in demanding thy ewe to be added to his ewes: truly many are the who wrong each other: Not so do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and how few are they?"...and David gathered that We had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down, bowing, and turned (to God).

[al-Fath 48:29] Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, compassionate amongst each other. Thou wilt see them bow and prostrate themselves, seeking Grace from God and (His) Good Pleasure. On their faces are their marks, the traces of their prostration. This is their similitude in the Taurat; and their similitude in the Gospel is: like a seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem, (filling) the sowers with wonder and delight. As a result, it fills the Unbelievers with rage at them. God has promised those among them who believe and do righteous deeds forgiveness, and a great Reward.

This verse is used by sects to say that prostration to Allah must be physical. Let us look at one other verses to see if that is true.

[Muhammad 47:30.21] Had We so willed, We could have shown them up to you, and you should have known them by their marks: but surely you will know them by the tone of their speech! And God knows all that you do.

Here Allah is talking about “those in whose hearts is a disease”, what mark would they have? These “marks” are NOT physical marks. They are traits that each have that, if detected, can distinguish a believer and a non -believer. Believers are humble and kind, Non-believers are arrogant and pushy (for example). Allah has made His System easy.

[al-Baqarah 2:58] "...and enter the gate PROSTRATING"

How does one move forward through any gate sliding on his hands, knees and face? Would that not be painful? Allah has made His system easy, hence all the more reason to believe that it is not a literal meaning of prostration.

[as-Sajdah 32:15] Only those believe in Our Signs (verses/ayats), who, when they are recited to them, prostrate, and celebrate the praises of their Lord, nor are they puffed up with pride.

The above verse gives us no exceptions along with it. Let me ask you, if you are in a busy intersection and you hear the Qur’an being recited, will you physically prostrate in front of the oncoming traffic? A better example is if you are driving wildly down the street angry at something that happened to you and you hear Qur’an being recited in your car cd player, will you prostrate right there and crash into a tree? Or will you listen to The Words of Allah and correct your actions (prostrate) and drive sensibly, and put attention to it in reverence and intention to hear and obey. This is what this verse means. When you hear the Word of God, the heart of the believer softens and he gets in line with what Allah is instructing him to do. Prostration of the heart, softening of the heart towards our most high our most merciful and most gracious God.

Prostration has many benefits, the physical prostration, but we must do all things with understanding. Prostration is a physical way to show what we feel on the inside, and sometimes we might throw ourselves before God physically, we might even cry or yell out to God or recite to Him or sing praises, and all this I see as good as long as the intention are in the right place and we are seeking understanding for why we do what we do and using the Quran, the word of Allah as our guide. I can't even begin to describe how I feel physically and spiritually during prostration. I could just stay in that position all day, as my head lowers to the earth in complete submission to Allah and feeling the gravity of the earth pull me towards the center of it and as I lift up I feel all of my negative energy just being sucked out of me into the earth again. Interestingly, prostration no less then 90 times in the glorious Quran.

Here is a list of some of the said benefits of prostration in Salah:

During Salah when you [go into] sujood extra blood flows into the brain, which is very important for [a] healthy brain. When you do sujood, this extra blood supply to the skin on the face [helps] prevent diseases such as chilblain etc.

When you do sujood there is drainage of sinuses and there are fewer chances that a person will have sinusitis, that is inflammation of the sinus, this drainage of module sinus, of the frontal sinus, and a person has less chances of having inflammation of the sinus, that is sinusitis.

When a person breathes normally only two thirds of the capacity of the lung is exhaled out, the remaining one third remain in the lung as a residual air, now when you do sujood the abdominal visra, they press against the diaphragm and the diaphragm presses against the lower part of the lungs, the lower lobes, and when you breath during sujood even this one third residual air is aired out and that's very important for a healthy lung. There are less chances of having diseases of the lungs.

In a salah we stand up and we sit down, do qayam, rukuh, sujood and when we stand up from same position the weight is localized on the bottom of the feet and the calve muscle and the thigh muscle are activated and they increase the blood supply to the lower part of the body, which is very important. Further we do various postures like standing erect, bowing down, prostrating, the vertebra column takes various postures and there are less chances of having disease of the vertebrae, of the spine.

There are medical benefits and I could do a whole research study just on that topic. But Muslims, offer Salah to thank Allah (SWT), to praise Him, to obey His commands. These are just some known side benefits.

Salat will never be the same for me again, and prostration will now be a part of my life at all times, not just during prayer time. Thank you Arilev. I hope this helps to answer your Jewish Muslim questions.

God bless you all. Salam alaikom wa rahmatAllah wa barakatoh.

SOURCES

http://www.free-minds.org/articles/quranic/salat2.htm

http://www.islamawareness.net/Salah/salah_zakir.html

Prophet Joshua, Yeshua, Eissa? (pbuh)

"7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - JOSHUA 1:7-9

7 Solamente esfuérzate y sé muy valiente, cuidando de obrar conforme a toda la Ley que mi siervo Moisés te mandó; no te apartes de ella ni a la derecha ni a la izquierda, para que seas prosperado en todas las cosas que emprendas.

8 Nunca se apartará de tu boca este libro de la Ley, sino que de día y de noche meditarás^[i] en él, para que guardes y hagas conforme a todo lo que está escrito en él, porque entonces harás prosperar tu camino y todo te saldrá bien.

9

"MIRA QUE TE MANDO QUE TE ESFUERCES Y SEAS VALIENTE;
NO TEMAS NI DESMAYES, PORQUE TU DIOS ESTARA CONTIGO DONDEQUIERA QUE VAYAS."
-JOSUE 1:7-9

God's commands to Joshua in this passage greatly contributed to shaping my character, behavior and empowering me in so many ways. It is one of the first verses I would teach my students at bible study and one that I would often reflect upon for a large portion of my life.

It has been a long time since I posted to my blog. It had also been a long time since I had recalled prophet Joshua and his words until Arilev and I were discussing the root letters of the names of the prophets between Arabic and Hebrew and the connection between Eissa's (Jesus') name and Joshua's (Yeshua's) name with regards to the Semetic letter spellings. Yosha' bin Noon as he is known in Arabic (Pbuh), is recognized as a prophet in the famous book Qasas Al-Anbiyaa (Stories of the Prophets).... He accompanied prophet Musa (Moses) (alayhi salam) in the desert for 40 yrs...also Yusha' bin Nun led bani israel into yareho known as Jericho. He was the prophet after Moses.  You will probably be seeing many more blog posts than what I typically word. It is always a blessing to be surrounded by people who inspire through example and who have nothing but goodness coming out of their mouths. As Jesus (pbuh) said; "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks."

Joshua is believed to be mentioned indirectly in at least two places in the Qur'an...

(1) "Two men of those who feared, upon both of whom Allah had bestowed a favour..." (Qur'an 5:23)

One of the "two men" is said to have been Joshua as various commentators mention:

Ibn Kathir: "It is said that they were Yashu bin Noon and Kaleb..."

al Suyuti: "They were Yusha and Kaleb"

al Qurtubi: "Ibn Abbas and others have said (that) they were Yusha and Kaleb"

See also Abdullah Yusuf Ali's footnote to this verse.


(2) "Behold, Moses said to his attendant..." (Qur'an 18:60)

Commenting on "attendant":

Ibn Kathir: "Yashu bin Noon"

al Suyuti: "Yusha bin Noon"

al Qurtubi: "His attendant, Yusha bin Noon"

   

Yehoshua (Joshua) of Nun is called Yeshua in Nechemyah (Nehemiah) 8:17.  At the time of the Second Temple, the name Yeshua was one of the most common names of that period, evidently tied with Eliezer (another one of my favorite names) for fifth place, behind Simon (love that name), Joseph (my all time favorite), and Judah.  John, known as Yahya in the Quran (pbuh), was said in the Quran to be the first to be named Yahya by Allah.

Joshua's original name apparently was Hoshea, meaning Salvation (Num. 13:8), but then Moses changed it to Yehosua, and then Yeshua is the shortened form of it. 

According to another source, Yeshua is the original Aramaic proper name for Jesus the Nazarene.  

Yusha' bin Nun, in Hebrew - Yeshua and Oshea are said to mean "God is my salvation."

There is also a hadith where Mohammed (pbuh) is said to have mentioned that the sun never stopped to anyone except for Yusha bin Nun where he led his people after the death of Moses to enter the Promised Land.  "So he marched on and approached a village at or about the time of the Asr prayers.  He said to the sun:  Thou art submissive to Allah and so am I.  Oh Allah, stop the sun for me a little.  It was stopped for him until Allah granted him victory...." Muslim 19, 4327

It might also be possible to argue the similarity of Issa and Yusha, as the dots added later along the history of the Arabic language, if removed, would bring these two names very close together in pronunciation, but that would require more research on my part.

In conclusion, this is all I have been able to collect on the topic so far.  I will continue to add and refine this post as time goes on and I welcome any comments or corrections.  

Dr. Mohammed Al-Awathy

Salam alaikom,
I have ten days left in Kuwait. It has been an amazing experience. Yesterday, my mother and I went to the farm of Dr. Mohammed Al-Awathy's family in Wafra. Dr. Al-Awathy interviewed us both on the channel Al-Rai about how we converted to Islam. The good thing was that I was able to understand almost everything the doctor asked me, but it was very difficult for me because the entire interview was in Arabic and my Arabic language is still very limited. However, the entire time I remembered Prophet Musa Alayhi Salam (Moses) who had a speech impediment but asked Allah for help and trusted in Allah. I remembered that what was most important was to get across the message, that Allah is one, that it is for Him that we live, and that true peace and love and happiness is found in Him. It was very hard not being able to express myself as well as I wished I could or exactly what I or my mom was thinking but I hope that people still got the essence of how we felt about Islam. Overall the experience left a great impact in our lives. The production crew was very supportive and the landscape was gorgeous and the weather cooperated and the doctor's family and friends that were at the farm were so friendly and hospitable. The show will be broadcast in two parts during Ramadan insha Allah on Al-Rai channel. During my time in Kuwait I grew in so many ways, thanks first to Allah and then to all the people to touched my life here.

Surat Maryam - Recited by Mishary Al-Afasy

Surat Qaf from the Holy Quran - Beautiful Recitation

Do3a

SALAM ALAIKOM! سلام عليكم

I never thought to reflect upon why most Muslims and many Arabs say “ASalamu alaikom.” In Arabic this would be spelled as “السلام عليكم.” The Alef Lam or the first two letters in this word make the word salam (meaning peace) a definite noun as opposed to indefinite. I guess many people seem to think there is not much common usage difference between saying it with these two letters in front of salam and not. However, when my dear brother Ali pointed out that in no place in the Quran is it spelled with the Alef lam in front and there are many places it is mentioned as Salam Alaikom, I began to ask myself why then the Alef lam? So I felt this warranted a blog post to share the knowledge of this with others.

It may be insignificant, but as far as I’m concerned, I would tend to prefer to say it how it is said in the Quran as opposed to another way which I have no idea where it originated from. I mean, I still can’t find someone to explain to me why we say ASalamu alaikom instead of the way it is written and recited in the Quran. So I have decided I will use the Quranic way of saying salam from now on, whether it makes any difference or not.

I love the Quran and I believe it to be a complete guide for all humanity and there is so much in it we can gain from. From the Quran is where Muslims learned we should say Salam Alaikom to each other in the first place. It is actually the greeting of the angels and this is alluded to in the Quran as well.

If someone reads this post and knows why so many people say it differently than how it is said in the Quran, please feel free to contact me via email or comment. If you would like to look further and share in what I have found regarding Salam Alaikom, here are the ayat from the Quran that Ali located for me, take a look at the transliteration if you can’t read Arabic letters and you will get the idea there too about the words salam alaikom (peace be upon you):

Verse List:

6:54
7:46
13:24
16:32
19:15
19:47
27:59
28:55
39:73

6:54 - Asad - English / Muhammad Asad

Al-An’am (The Cattle) 6:54 And when those who believe in Our messages come unto thee, say: “Peace be upon you. Your Sustainer has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy Asad(6,46)[46] - so that if any of you does a bad deed out of ignorance, and thereafter repents and lives righteously, He shall be [found] much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.” Topics discussed in this Verse: [Allah's mercy] [Mercy] [Repentance] Waitha jaaka allatheena yuminoona biayatina faqul salamun AAalaykum kataba rabbukum AAala nafsihi alrrahmata annahu man AAamila minkum sooan bijahalatin thumma taba min baAAdihi waaslaha faannahu ghafoorun raheemun وَإِذَا جَاءكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلاَمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ أَنَّهُ مَن عَمِلَ مِنكُمْ سُوءًا بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِن بَعْدِهِ وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

7:46 - Asad - English / Muhammad Asad

Al-A’raf (The Heights) 7:46 And between the two there will be a barrier. Asad(7,36)[36] And there will be persons who [in life] were endowed with the faculty of discernment [between right and wrong], recognizing each by its mark. Asad(7,37)[37] And they will call out unto the inmates of paradise, “Peace be upon you!”-not having entered it themselves, but longing [for it]. Topics discussed in this Verse: [Heights ( the ) ] Wabaynahuma hijabun waAAala alaAArafi rijalun yaAArifoona kullan biseemahum wanadaw ashaba aljannati an salamun AAalaykum lam yadkhulooha wahum yatmaAAoona وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى الأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلاًّ بِسِيمَاهُمْ وَنَادَوْاْ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلاَمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ (7:46)

Ar-Ra’d (The Thunder)

13:24 “Peace be upon you, because you have persevered!” How excellent, then, this fulfillment in the hereafter!

Topics discussed in this Verse:
[Believers:rewarded with Gardens] [Greeting:in Paradise] [Peace:greeting in Paradise]

Salamun AAalaykum bima sabartum faniAAma AAuqba alddari

سَلاَمٌ عَلَيْكُم بِمَا صَبَرْتُمْ فَنِعْمَ عُقْبَى الدَّارِ (13:24)

An-Nahl (The Bee)

16:32 those whom the angels gather in death while they are in a state of inner purity, greeting them thus: “Peace be upon you! Enter paradise by virtue of what you were doing [in life]!”

Topics discussed in this Verse:
[Angels] [Angels:take the souls of the dying] [Day of judgment] [Death] [Greeting:in Paradise] [Noah:rules regarding] [Peace:greeting in Paradise]

Allatheena tatawaffahumu almalaikatu tayyibeena yaqooloona salamun AAalaykumu odkhuloo aljannata bima kuntum taAAmaloona

الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلآئِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ يَقُولُونَ سَلامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ادْخُلُواْ الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (16:32)

Maryam (Mary)

19:15 Hence, [God's] peace was upon him on the day when he was born, and on the day of his death, and. will be [upon him] on the day when he shall be raised to life [again].

Topics discussed in this Verse:
[Yahya]

Wasalamun AAalayhi yawma wulida wayawma yamootu wayawma yubAAathu hayyan

وَسَلَامٌ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ وُلِدَ وَيَوْمَ يَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ حَيًّا (19:15)

Maryam (Mary)

19:47 [Abraham] replied: “Peace be upon thee! I shall ask my Sustainer to forgive thee: for, behold, He has always been kind unto me.

Topics discussed in this Verse:
[Abraham:argues with father against idolatry] [Abraham:remonstrates with Azar] [Allah:seek His forgiveness]

Qala salamun AAalayka saastaghfiru laka rabbee innahu kana bee hafiyyan

قَالَ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ سَأَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكَ رَبِّي إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِي حَفِيًّا (19:47)

An-Naml (The Ants)

27:59 SAY: “All praise is due to God, and peace be upon those servants of His whom He chose [to be His message-bearers]!” Is not God far better than anything to which men [falsely] ascribe a share in His divinity? Asad(27,54)^[54]

Topics discussed in this Verse:
[Allah:Praise be to Him] [Messengers:peace be upon them] [Peace:upon Allah's servants and messengers]

Quli alhamdu lillahi wasalamun AAala AAibadihi allatheena istafa allahu khayrun amma yushrikoona

قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَى آللَّهُ خَيْرٌ أَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ (27:59)

Al-Qasas (The Narration)

28:55 and, whenever they heard frivolous talk, Asad(28,54)^[54] having turned away from it and said: “Unto us shall be accounted Our deeds, and unto you, your deeds. Peace be upon you - [but] we do not seek out such as are ignorant [of the meaning of right and wrong].”

Waitha samiAAoo allaghwa aAAradoo AAanhu waqaloo lana aAAmaluna walakum aAAmalukum salamun AAalaykum la nabtaghee aljahileena

وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا اللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا لَنَا أَعْمَالُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَالُكُمْ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَا نَبْتَغِي الْجَاهِلِينَ (28:55)

Az-Zumar (The Groups)

39:73 But those who were conscious of their Sus­tainer will be urged on in throngs towards paradise till, when they reach it, they shall find its gates wide- open; Asad(39,75)^[75] and its keepers will say unto them, “Peace be upon you! Well have you done: enter, then, this [paradise], herein to abide!”

Topics discussed in this Verse:
[Day of judgment] [Gardens of Paradise] [Greeting:in Paradise] [Peace:greeting in Paradise]

Waseeqa allatheena ittaqaw rabbahum ila aljannati zumaran hatta itha jaooha wafutihat abwabuha waqala lahum khazanatuha salamun AAalaykum tibtum faodkhulooha khalideena

وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا حَتَّى إِذَا جَاؤُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ (39:73)

Salman Al-Farsi

I have been wanting to post about this man for some time but I kept forgetting and this story has special meaning in my life. Many people in the Middle East have often retold this story to me after I have told them how I came to Islam. I also happen to like his name. One of my favorite cultures and languages other than Arabic is Persian. Anyway, the last time I heard this story was from the father of my friend here in Kuwait when I was visiting them for the first or second time at their home. We were sitting outside after dinner eating kanafa and drinking tea. Her sister, mother and brother were there too. Anyway, I really love her father and I will never forget how well he can tell a story. He made the story about Salman Al-Farsi come alive. His wife, my friend's mom, is actually from Mexico so it was nice to find a literal "marriage" of my two favorite cultures. :)
Anyway, when I have time, I will elaborate more about his story but in the mean time, here is a nice version of the story I found at http://www.anwary-islam.com/companion/s_salman-al-farsi.htm

.......
SALMAN AL-FARSI Radhia Allahu Anaha
his is a story of a seeker of Truth, the story of Salman the Persian, gleaned, to begin with, from his own words:

I grew up in the town of Isfahan in Persia in the village of Jayyan. My father was the Dihqan or chief of the village. He was the richest person there and had the biggest house.

Since I was a child my father loved me, more than he loved any other. As time went by his love for me became so strong and overpowering that he feared to lose me or have anything happen to me. So he kept me at home, a veritable prisoner, in the same way that young girls were kept.

I became devoted to the Magian religion so much so that I attained the position of custodian of the fire which we worshipped. My duty was to see that the flames of the fire remained burning and that it did not go out for a single hour, day or night.

My father had a vast estate which yielded an abundant supply of crops. He himself looked after the estate and the harvest. One day he was very busy with his duties as dihqan in the village and he said to me:

"My son, as you see, I am too busy to go out to the estate now. Go and look after matters there for me today."

On my way to the estate, I passed a Christian church and the voices at prayer attracted my attention. I did not know anything about Christianity or about the followers of any other religion throughout the time my father kept me in the house away from people. When I heard the voices of the Christians I entered the church to see what they were doing.

I was impressed by their manner of praying and felt drawn to their religion. "By God," I said, "this is better than ours. I shall not leave them until the sun sets."

I asked and was told that the Christian religion originated in AshSham (Greater Syria). I did not go to my father's estate that day and at night, I returned home. My father met me and asked what I had done. I told him about my meeting with the Christians and how I was impressed by their religion. He was dismayed and said:

"My son, there is nothing good in that religion. Your religion and the religion of your forefathers is better."

"No, their religion is better than ours," I insisted.

My father became upset and afraid that I would leave our religion. So he kept me locked up in the house and put a chain on my feet. I managed however to send a message to the Christians asking them to inform me of any caravan going to Syria. Before long they got in touch with me and told me that a caravan was headed for Syria. I managed to unfetter myself and in disguise accompanied the caravan to Syria. There, I asked who was the leading person in the Christian religion and was directed to the bishop of the church. I went up to him and said:

"I want to become a Christian and would like to attach myself to your service, learn from you and pray with you."

The bishop agreed and I entered the church in his service. I soon found out, however, that the man was corrupt. He would order his followers to give money in chanty while holding out the promise of blessings to them. When they gave anything to spend in the way oRGod however, he would hoard it for himself and not give anything to the poor or needy. In this way he amassed a vast quantity of gold. When the bishop died and the Christians gathered to bury him, I told them of his corrupt practices and, at their request, showed them where he kept their donations. When they saw the large jars filled with gold and silver they said.

"By God, we shall not bury him." They nailed him on a cross and threw stones at him.

I continued in the service of the person who replaced him. The new bishop was an ascetic who longed for the Hereafter and engaged in worship day and night. I was greatly devoted to him and spent a long time in his company.

(After his death, Salman attached himself to various Christian religious figures, in Mosul, Nisibis and elsewhere. The last one had told him about the appearance of a Prophet in the land of the Arabs who would have a reputation for strict honesty, one who would accept a gift but would never consume charity (sadaqah) for himself. Salman continues his story.)

A group of Arab leaders from the Kalb tribe passed through Ammuriyah and I asked them to take me with them to the land of the Arabs in return for whatever money I had. They agreed and I paid them. When we reached Wadi al-Qura (a place between Madinah and Syria), they broke their agreement and sold me to a Jew. I worked as a servant for him but eventually he sold me to a nephew of his belonging to the tribe of Banu Qurayzah. This nephew took me with him to Yathrib, the city of palm groves, which is how th e Christian at Ammuriyah had described it.

At that time the Prophet was inviting his people in Makkah to Islam but I did not hear anything about him then because of the harsh duties which slavery imposed upon me.

When the Prophet reached Yathrib after his hijrah from Makkah, I was in fact at the top of a palm tree belonging to my master doing some work. My master was sitting under the tree. A nephew of his came up and said:

"May God declare war on the Aws and the Khazraj (the two main Arab tribes of Yathrib). By God, they are now gathering at Quba to meet a man who has today come from Makkah and who claims he is a Prophet." I felt hot flushes as soon as I heard these words and I began to shiver so violently that I was afraid that I might fall on my master. I quickly got down from the tree and spoke to my master's nephew. "What did you say? Repeat the news for me."

My mastcr was very angry and gave me a terrible blow. "What does this matter to you? Go back to what you were doing," he shouted.

That evening, I took some dates that I had gathered and went to the place where the Prophet had alighted. I went up to him and said:

"I have heard that you are a righteous man and that you have companions with you who are strangers and are in need. Here is something from me as sadaqah. I see that you are more deserving of it than others."

The Prophet ordered his companions to eat but he himself did not eat of it.

I gathered some more dates and when the Prophet left Quba for Madinah I went to him and said: "I noticed that you did not eat of the sadaqah I gave. This however is a gift for you." Of this gift of dates, both he and his companions ate.

The strict honesty of the Prophet was one of the characteristics that led Salman to believe in him and accept Islam.

Salman was released from slavery by the Prophet who paid his Jewish slave-owner a stipulated price and who himself planted an agreed number of date palms to secure his manumission. After accepting Islam, Salman would say when asked whose son he was:

"I am Salman, the son of Islam from the children of Adam."

Salman was to play an important role in the struggles of the growing Muslim state. At the battle of Khandaq, he proved to be an innovator in military strategy. He suggested digging a ditch or khandaq around Madinah to keep the Quraysh army at bay. When Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Makkans, saw the ditch, he said, "This strategem has not been employed by the Arabs before."

Salman became known as "Salman the Good". He was a scholar who lived a rough and ascetic life. He had one cloak which he wore and on which he slept. He would not seek the shelter of a roof but stayed under a tree or against a wall. A man once said to him: "Shall I not build you a house in which to live?" "I have no need of a house," he replied.

The man persisted and said, "I know the type of house that would suit you." "Describe it to me," said Salman.

"I shall build you a house which if you stand up in it, its roof will hurt your head and if you stretch your legs the wall will hurt them."

Later, as a govenor of al-Mada'in (Ctesiphon) near Baghdad, Salman received a stipend of five thousand dirhams. This he would distribute as sadaqah. He lived from the work of his own hands. When some people came to Mada'in and saw him working in the palm groves, they said, "You are the amir here and your sustenance is guaranteed and you do this work!"

"I like to eat from the work of my own hands," he replied. Salman however was not extreme in his asceticism. It is related that he once visited Abu ad-Dardaa with whom the Prophet had joined him in brotherhood. He found Abu adDardaa's wife in a miserable state and he asked, "What is the matter with you."

"Your brother has no need of anything in this world*" she replied.

When Abu ad-Dardaa came, he welcomed Salman and gave him food. Salman told him to eat but Abu adDardaa said, "I am fasting."

"I swear to you that I shall not eat until you eat also."

Salman spent the night there as well. During the night, Abu ad-Dardaa got up but Salman got hold of him and said:

"O Abu ad-Dardaa, your Lord has a right over you. Your family have a right over you and your body has a right over you. Give to each its due."

In the morning, they prayed together and then went out to meet the Prophet, peace be upon him. The Prophet supported Salman in what he had said.

As a scholar, Salman was noted for his vast knowledge and wisdom. Ali said of him that he was like Luqman the Wise. And Ka'b al-Ahbar said: "Salman is stuffed with knowledge and wisdomÑan ocean that does not dry up." Salman had a knowledge of both the Christian scriptures and the Qur'an in addition to his earlier knowledge of the Zoroastrian religion. Salman in fact translated parts of the Qur'an into Persian during the life-time of the Prophet. He was thus the first person to translate the Qur'an into a foreign language.

Salman, because of the influential household in which he grew up, might easily have been a major figure in the sprawling Persian Empire of his time. His search for truth however led him, even before the Prophet had appeared, to renounce a comfortable and affluent life and even to suffer the indignities of slavery. According to the most reliable account, he died in the year thirty five after the hijrah, during the caliphate of Uthman, at Ctesiphon.

Mid Term Exams at Kuwait University "Emtihanat fee Jamyat AlKuwait"

Assalamu alaikoum,
Sorry I am not posting so often, it has been a demanding semester, probably my most demanding semester in the university yet. I am in the middle of mid term exams. Two of my five courses are in full Arabic; Kuwait Government and Politics and Islamic History. The other two are just p artially in Arabic - Managerial Accounting, Calculus, and Entrepreneurship. I must do a debate about one of the legislative committees in the Kuwaiti government and I chose the committee on the environment. I will let you know how it goes. Speaking of government, Kuwait currently has none... Hehehe.. At least no parliament... The parliament was dissolved by the Emiri decree just last week. They will have to re-elect new officials. This is not the first time this has happened in Kuwait. At any rate, I have a lot to do today, including studying for exams and writing papers and doing my work for m internship so I better get going soon.

I have been enjoying learning more and more abotu Kuwaiti culture as each day passes. Just recently I visited the wife of the brother of my friend's husband. Her name is Sahar. She had a family gathering and invited me. This famil is sooo nice. I love them all. That night we had so much fun. First we sat in the sitting room and talked about Islam and introduced ourselves. Then we had a great Kuwaiti potluck dinner and all the ladies were telling me which traditional dish they made. They were all so delicious. I love Kuwaiti and all Arab food. Yum! My favorite that night was the Moreg Laham. MMMM. If you can find it, try cooking with Loomi, it is a dried black lime. It adds a beautiful flavor to practically anything. Anyway, when were sitting in the living room talking, they asked me to tell them how I came to Islam. Most people I have met here love to hear stories about converts. It inspires them. Anyway, after dinner and desserts, we all gathered again in the living room to play a game. It was a riddle game and those who guessed the answer to the riddle questions would win a prize. I won a couple prizes. When a person would win, we would all do songs and cheers, Kuwaiti style. SO WANASA. Then Sahar played some traditional Kuwait music and her mother and aunt started to do the old traditional Kuwaiti dancing and I danced with them and then everyone joined in. It was really cool to see all the generations of these ladies mixed together and celebrating Kuwaiti culture. When I left, Sahar gave me a bunch of desserts and treats to take home. I gave everyone kisses and it was back to the house.

Ok, time to get back to my studies....

Thaabita 3la Qyamy (Holding steadfast to my values)

Assalamu alaikoum
I am enjoying my second semester in Kuwait but time is flying past with the many courses I am taking. It is quite a load. The Accounting and Entrepreneurship courses are going smoothly but Calculus and Kuwait Government are constant challenges to stay caught up with. But alhamdulEllah. I trust that they will all go well with Allah's help. I am still involved with Model United Nations and we are planning to attend another conference in Brazil this summer inshallah. I am so excited for it. This week was full of lectures for me. I had one about Earth Hour, which you can find more information about at www.earthhour.org. It is a campaign to get cities around the world collectively to turn off the lights for one hour at 8pm on March 29th. I also went to a lecture about Women's Political Rights in Kuwait by a professor of sociology from Kuwait University at the Aware Center. I went to a lecture called "Thaabita 3la Qyamy" which means, Holding Steadfast to My Values. It was with Dr. Mohammed Al-3awathy and he was talking about how we should stand up for our values and hold fast to them even when society and people around us are not and we should not be shy about them. We should not be ashamed to hold on to them. Allah is first and we should fear Allah more than society.

Traditional

I love anything that involves old tradition, especially that which is connected to religion or culture. Yesterday my friend invited me for a traditional Kuwaiti family lunch. It was soooo wanasa (fun/cool/etc). First we had tea and I saw the old family photos. Their family goes way back in Kuwait history. Their grandfather, Allah yarhamhu was Sheikh Yousef, a well known man in Kuwait who first promoted the education system here. Then I saw their little brother's art and he is very talented and their mom really fosters his talent and that is nice to see. Then we had lunch and it was a feast of course, everything from Mechbous Diyay to Moreg Lahem to Salads. Then we had the most amazing dates and homemade leben (an unsweetened yogurt drink i absolutely love). While we were eating, they were surprised I like to eat with my hands too as that is something very traditional Kuwait and in other Arab countries too. My friend Farrah taught me the technique of eating with my hands and it really works great!! I never knew there was an actual technique to it. It was very systematic and it is so efficient! Also, she taught me how the prophet Mohammed (saaws) used to sit when eating and u would have one leg pushing against his stomach. Very cool.

Later we went upstairs and had dessert consisting of two kinds of kanafa, Arabic icecream that is soooo yummy and extra goey because they make it with starch. Then we had Arabic coffee and talked until late afternoon. We talked about Islam, school, family, marriage. Just before I left, my friends' mom's trainer arrived and I did Aerobics with her for a few minutes. It was a beautiful day.

PETRA

Assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah wa barakatoh,
I had to leave the country last week because my visa was going to expire. I thought I could just get it renewed but apparently leaving the country and coming back was the only option. So I bought a ticket to Jordan to see my friends there and go exploring some more religious historical sites. I only had 3 days but I made the most of them. I arrived on the first day and surprised the family I know there again. I missed them a lot and it was soo great to see all of them again alhamdulEllah. There is something special about Jordan, I just feel very comfortable there. Even arriving to the airport was a comforting feeling. The first night I just went to watch a night soccer game and catch up with my friends. Then we had a nice late night meal of traditional Jordanian snacks. The next day we woke up early and left for Petra. The road on the way there was surrounded by desert until we began approaching Petra which revealed a range of high rock formations as we decended down to Petra. It reminded me a bit of the Grand Canyon back in the states. We arrived just in time for duhr Friday prayer in this little town just outside of Petra and the first sound we heard as we arrived was the Athan, the call to prayer. We then heard the khutbah (sermon) over the loudspeaker and got some snacks for the road and left. We arrived shortly thereafter in Petra. The first thing I saw was many little shops of souvenirs and then as I walked further I saw many horses. It was so good to see horses after such a long time. I missed horses so much and has expected to see more of them in the Middle East. We began the path to Petra, when I quickly realized that Petra was all around us the entire time. It was an enormous city of houses and carvings all the way down the long path. It took us about an hour though it may have been longer, I completely forgot time the entire time I was there. I didn't feel the time at all and at the same time it felt like we were going on forever, but in a good and fun way, not in a boring and tiring way. I was mesmerized by the power of the place. I fell in love with it instantly and the weather that day was absolutely perfect. The entire day was a miracle and a testament to God's power, love and you could see that day so clearly how everything Allah creates worships him. Even the couple of ants I saw when I was about to pray seemed to be in worship of Him. I couldn't have asked for a more glorious day and there is nothing I could compare it too. It was so peaceful and beauty was everywhere and you could feel it with every sense a human being possesses. The most powerful moment of the journey was as we approached the famous sculpture of the tall building in the rocks. I think it was not the main one but it was powerful enough that I could feel almost an energy from it even before I could see it ahead of me. But it wasn't the building that made the most impact on me actually, although it did take my breath away. It was seeing a camel up close for the first time in my life. Two of them were sitting in front of the building wearing traditional blankets and saddles. They were so amazing I could not take my eyes off them. I felt like in the movie Jurassic Park with the paleontologists first come across a living dinosaur. The sound the camels make is also just as amazing and powerful. I felt an instant connection with this animal. I was instantly taken away to the time of the life of prophet Ishaq (Isaac), alayhi salam and the story I had read in the bible of Rebekah, his wife. The story of Rebekah had a great impact on my life and every time I saw a camel I would think of her, and when I became Muslim, I also thought of Fatima, the prophet Mohammed's (pbuh) daughter and the story of her marriage to Ali. I will first start with reflecting upon Rebekah's story and how camels make me feel connected with her, especially on this day when I first touched on with my own hands.

Here is information about Rebekah I took off Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca):
After, Sarah, Abraham's wife, dies, and after taking care of her burial, Abraham goes about finding a wife for his son Isaac. He commands his servant Eliezer (meaning of name - my God has helped) to journey to his birthplace of Aram Naharaim to select a bride from his own family, rather than engage Isaac to a local Canaanite girl. Abraham sends along expensive jewelry, clothing and dainties as gifts to the bride and her family. If the girl refuses to come, Eliezer will be absolved of his responsibility.

Eliezer devises a test in order to find the right wife for Isaac. As he stands at the central well in Abraham's birthplace with his men and ten camels laden with goods, he prays to God:

"Let it be the the maiden to whom I shall say, 'Please tip over your jug so I may drink,' and who replies, 'Drink, and I will even water your camels,' her will You have designated for Your servant, for Isaac" (Genesis 24:14).

To his surprise, a young girl immediately comes out and offers to draw water for him to drink, as well as water to fill the troughs for all his camels. Rebecca continues to draw water until all the camels are sated, proving her kind and generous nature and her suitability for entering Abraham's household.

Eliezer immediately gives her a golden nose ring and two golden bracelets (Genesis 24:22), which she hurries to show her mother. Seeing the jewelry, her brother Laban runs out to greet the guest and bring him inside. Eliezer recounts the oath he made to Abraham and all the details of his trip to and meeting with Rebecca in fine detail, after which Laban and Bethuel agree that she can return with him. After hosting Eliezer and his men overnight, however, the family tries to keep Rebecca with them for another 10 months or a year. Eliezer insists that they ask the girl herself, and she agrees to go immediately. Her family sends her off with her nurse, Deborah, and blesses her, "Our sister, may you come to be thousands of myriads, and may your offspring inherit the gate of its foes."

As Rebecca and her entourage approach Abraham's home, they spy Isaac from a distance in the fields of Beer-lahai-roi. The Talmud (Berachot 26b) and the Midrash explain that Isaac was praying, as he instituted Mincha, the afternoon prayer. Seeing such a spiritually-exalted man, Rebecca immediately dismounts from her camel and asks Eliezer who it is. When she hears that he is her future husband, she modestly covers herself with a veil. Isaac brings her into the tent of his mother Sarah, marries her, and loves her.

Wedding Allusions

Some of the events leading up to the marriage of Isaac and Rebecca have been institutionalized in the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony. Before the bride and bridegroom stand under the chuppah, they participate in a special ceremony called badeken (veiling). The bridegroom is led to the bride by two escorts and, seeing her, covers her with a veil, similar to the way Rebecca covered herself before marrying Isaac. Then the bridegroom (or the father of the bride) recites the same blessing over the bride which Rebecca's family recited over her.

Marriage and motherhood

Both Isaac and Rebecca prayed fervently to God for offspring. God eventually answered Isaac's prayers and Rebecca conceived.

Rebecca was extremely uncomfortable during the pregnancy, and God is said to have told her that that was because her two twin children were fighting in her womb, and would continue to fight all through their lives. Her firstborn son was Esau, and the second was Jacob (Yakub).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca

I always envision Rebekah giving water to the camels whenever I see them. Seeing the camels made me feel so connected with Rebekah and with Fatima as well. I had told the story about Fatima in an earlier post but basically the way she married Ali made me want to marry in the same way. When I see camels I remember the part in the story when she rode on a camel on her way to Ali's house to marry him.

When I rode the camel, I enjoyed it so much I almost cried when I had to get off. I wanted to keep riding it all day.

I remembered my grandmother who was my only other family member who had ridden a camel before. I was so excited to return home so I could tell her all about this experience and show her the photos. But unfortunately, when I returned from Jordan to Kuwait, I received the news that my grandmother had passed away, so I lost both of my grandmothers in the same year. This was my father's mother. She was an amazing woman ma sha Allah. We were so close, and she taught me so much and was such a great mother and grandmother. From what I know, she was not a Muslim, she was Christian but I know she loved God and she gave so much love to so many people, and I pray Allah have mercy on her and we are All from Allah and to Him is our return.

Kuwait University (jam3atfilkuwait)

:) So fiiiinallly, akheeeeeeeeran I have made some progress in attempting to attend Kuwait University. Last semester I attended American University of Kuwait which was an amazing experience, but it is too expensive and I also wanted to try to experience a more authentically Kuwaiti cultural setting which I could find in Kuwait University. AUK is more liberal and more diverse but they both have their good and bad points so I am happy to experience both schools. From the time I came to Kuwait, actually even before that, I had tried to look into studying at Kuwait University but it was soooooo difficult to obtain information about the school. It is a national university and 90% of the students are Kuwaiti. They have a program for non-degree students, where they allow visiting students to attend for up to three semesters for credit classes but they cannot obtain a degree there. I finally found out about this through a friend that attends there. I found out they had many courses in English when I had heard the contrary before. I got the course catalog and was happy to see they had many courses related to my majors in English. I even discovered they have an intensive Arabic program that I would have taken last semester had I known about it. It is three hours a day every day. I also saw the book and it was just my level. But unfortunately I found out that I cannot take the intensive Arabic if I want to take other courses at KU. What a bummer. I had to walk all around the campuses trying to find the teachers for the courses I want to register for and get their signatures. It was a three day long process and three days into the semester. I didn't get why they would not let me register until the first day of the course when the process takes so much time. But thankfully I had a friend at KU help me obtain all the signatures and find my way around campus. AlhamdulEllah. I am almost registered but not quite, I need one last signature before they will let me. Insha Allah it will all work out.

A Day in the Desert

Assalamu alaikoum ! I have great news! SubhanAllah, Glory to Allah. Remember a few month back when I was just thinking about how we can contribute to changing the condition of the orphanage??? I talked to many people and considered helping my friend Hamad with a documentary about the orphanage to raise awareness and today, just five months later, I discovered through my auntie, the Kuwaiti lady I am living with in Kuwait, that an NGO is coming in and restructuring the orphanage. They have such a great vision and a well-organized and innovative plan to achieve it for the children. I had the privilege of meeting the main organizers of this plan today as I went to the desert in the area called July3a, Kuwait, where they were holding a fun camp for the kids with horses and swings and trampolines and magicians and food and lots of fun for them. The leaders were women and some of the most admirable women I have ever had the opportunity to meet. Kuwaitis have a lot to be proud of in these ladies. Ma sha Allah. Even I am proud to know there are Muslim women like this making a change in their society in such a way. They truly are amazing women, and they are also so sweet and I enjoyed every second I shared with them. I hope I can do like them someday. They are great role models for the young people of Kuwait. They are also careful about keeping a low profile with their names and the NGO as they feel it would be un-Islamic to go around boasting. That is nice to see for a change. It is Allah who is the best rewarder and may He reward them for what they are trying to accomplish and may all of these children succeed in life here and in the hereafter insha Allah. One of the leaders of the NGO happens to be the wife of a key minister in Kuwait and she is of the royal family. It was inspiring to watch her work today along with her team. She introduced me to her daughters who are the kindest and gentlest ladies, as well as super smart and savvy. I spent the afternoon with them at their home eating chocolate chip cookies and drinking lemonade while talking about Islam and about the importance of realizing our rights in Islam as women and the importance of not just accepting what people say but to seek the truth and read the Quran and seek understanding. I found some special new friends today that's for sure.
It was also sooo great to see the kids again and they remembered me some of them and I hope to continue visiting them over the years watching them grow up. It is now encouraging that they will implement some infrastructure into the orphanage that will help mold these children and refine them in sha Allah.
Now I am just waiting to register for Kuwait University. I must do it Sunday. I must also rent a car on Sunday. My friend Emily found me a place to rent one and she says she got hers for 95 kd a month which is great. Insha Allah I will get the same deal. I am praying I will get the classes I need for this semester. I must take calculus or I will have to return to the states so insha Allah it will work out. I moved out of my apartment since my roommate left and now I am living in a different area and this time in the home of a Kuwaiti lady. She is the good friend of my friend's mom. She is soooo great. I am so happy living with her. She has two daughters in college in the states so we are keeping each other company and we have become close. I really enjoy living here. She is very smart and knowledgeable about so many things and she is is also so kind. AlhamdulEllah. I feel so blessed. Every day that passes in Kuwait Allah by his grace showers me with blessings. I feel so happy living in this new place, so happy I can't believe it. It is so great to live in a country and live among the people of that culture. That is the best way to learn the culture in a short time. We are also exchanging languages. She knows seven!! Ma sha Allah. I am teaching her some Spanish and she is tutoring me in Arabic and teaching me some Greek too which is one the languages I had wanted to learn.
Tomorrow I have a long day again, so I better go to sleep, I will be helping with forming the fitness education for the orphans tomorrow. I don't know what it will involve but I will let you know how it goes.
Assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah.

Al Urdon (Jordan)

Assalamu alaikoum,
I realized just recently that I had never posted anything about my time in Jordan!!! I went to Jordan just before coming to Kuwait to visit my friends and to have the opportunity to walk where some of the prophets (pbut) may have walked and see what Arabian culture is like there. I was also planning to study Arabic at the Qasid Institute there along with Islam with my friend Sohaira from the states so I wanted to see if Jordan would be a good place for study. Turned out that it it is great! But my mission is still not done here in Kuwait, but insha Allah after this semester I will we study in Jordan in the future at some point, maybe summer of 2009. Whatever Allah wills. Just sooner or later, I definitely hope to study in Jordan when the time is right.

I fell in love with Jordan from the time I got off the plane. The people were so welcoming and helpful. I had quite an ordeal at the airport with all kinds of stuff and every person I encountered along the way went out of their way to help me out and were so friendly and it was extra comforting since I had just gone through one of the most emotionally exhausting experiences dealing with Israeli security just a couple hours before. I had been stuck at the Israeli airports almost 12 hours and was not treated anywhere nearly as well as I was in Jordan, although there were some exceptions, like the lady who booked me on the last flight out of Israel that day and one of the managers who helped me in many ways and another lady who was kind there too. But the point is, the Jordanians made me forget about my tiredness and negative experience I had just gone through. My favorite stamp in my passport is my Jordan stamp because they don't just use ink stamps, they actually paste a real Jordanian stamp in there too. :) This was my first experience in an mostly Arab country because before that I had arrived in Palestine and the airport and people arriving were almost all Jewish. Needless to say both arrivals were totally different experiences, but both unforgettable and that is for sure.

At any rate, I arrived very late, and my friend gave me a ride to my hotel. I had many friends in Jordan but there was a family there I was friends with but I wanted to surprise so I did not tell them I was coming to the Middle East. It was dark out so I didn't see much of Jordan at all on my way to the hotel that night. The next morning I prayed fajr after hearing the athan for the first time in Jordan. I went to the window to hear it better. It was a beautiful sound while watching the night come to an end. After the prayer I went to sleep for a while longer because I was so exhausted from one of the longest days of my life.
I had contacted my friends and asked them what they were up to. But I still didn't reveal that I was in Jordan. They told me they were going to a Hefla (wedding party) that evening around 5pm. It was still early. They were just about to have lunch. I asked what they were having and they told me mansaf!!! Mansaf is a lamb and rice dish in a yogurt and almond sauce. You MUST try it if you haven't. It is the best thing after kanafa!!!! You can find the recipe on my website http://mimisrecipes.blogspot.com
I told them to save me some. They laughed because they thought I was joking since it would be kind of hard for me to eat it all the way from the USA. But then I made them promise to save some for me. So the mom, who is also named Maryam like me did it just to make me happy, even when they still had no idea I was in town, or even in the country for that matter. Then I wished them well for the party, which was celebrating the marriage of a family cousin.

Then I contacted my friend who took me around to see the Roman ruins and an old mosque while I was waiting for my opportunity to visit the family I know in Amman. Then I had some kanafa, my first kanafa in the Middle East. It was sooooooooooo yummy. I couldn't get enough of it.

THE PLAN
When my friends told me they would be attending a hefla that afternoon, I realized I would not be able to go through with my original plan to ask around their neighborhood for their family name and go to the internet center where one of them works and find their house this way, because nobody would be home since all the family would be at the hefla. So, together with my friend, we planned that I would go to the hall where the hefla was held and ask the guests for my friends and find them this way. The thing was I had only seen them through camera not in person, so I was depending on that to remember and figure out who they are. Since I didn't know where the hefla would be exactly, I had my friend call the family and act like he was one of the invited guests but did not know how to get to the hall. The plan worked and they told him how to get there.

So as we approached the hall, immediately I recognized one of the family members from a block away. But I didn't want them to see me yet, so I ducked down in my friend's van as we passed by. When I got out of the van, my friend left and no one from the family was standing outside, so I had to get over my shyness and ask someone where I could find the family. I had limited Arabic but enough to be able to get this request across. Everyone recognized the family name luckily as I asked for the mother by giving her family name and saying OmmMohammed (which is how traditionally you call women, Mom of and then the name of the oldest son). They told me roughly where to go in the building, but unfortunately I didn't understand their directions, and so all of the kids excitedly grabbed my hands and offered to take me to her and the family. The hall turned out to be much larger than I had imagined. It was actually a building with many floors. It also resulted that the children didn't really seem to know where they were going as they pressed every single floor button on the elevator so it took like what seemed like forever just to find the right floor and also running through many dark hallways in vain.

Finally we found the right place, or so it seemed. There was a curtain wall and I could hear music and celebrating behind it and people were going in and out. But I was not certain if this was the hefla I was looking for, or if there were other heflas going on at the same time in this large building, which was totally possible. I asked a couple people who came out through the curtain but they didn't seem to recognize the family name and the kids just seemed to want to play, and none of them seemed to know how to help me find the family. Finally, I just told myself I would just crash the party. Speaking of wedding party, a bunch of cars just drove past my apartment here in Kuwait honking their horns and it is midnight. Someone must have just gotten married today.

Anyway, back to the story at hand, so I just told myself, be like the wedding crashers, and non-chelontly walk into the room and act like a guest. :p One girl saw me looking through the curtain uncertainly and I was able to explain to her that I was looking for someone. She didn't know the family but she told me to go ahead and come in and look for them. The problem was that I was not sure if I would recognize them in person or not. But I walked in. Now in most Muslim wedding parties, the women are in one hall or room and the men are in another. So obviously I was in the women section.

Anyway, as I walked in, all I could see were the backs of peoples' heads and everyone was wearing hijab (headscarves), so from far it was difficult to tell who was who. I finally took a chance when I spotted a woman who looked somewhat like Maryam in the photo. AlhamdulEllah it was her. I snuck up behind her, and put my hands on her shoulders. She turned around and I bent down to look at her in the eyes. She was in complete shock. She was sooooo surprised that I was in front of her. Then the daughter rub3a recognized me and came to me. Then the entire table started to greet me and hug me too. Turned out somehow everyone knew me. I felt shy from them because I felt guilty for taking attention away from the bride and groom sitting in front. Suddenly I was engulfed and drowning in hugs and embraces and kisses and dancing. It was absolute madness!!!! It was so much fun. I was so happy to be with them. Then they went to the man's side of the party and got all the men of the family to greet me. They were also so surprised.

I was so excited to meet the father, baba 3tef. We actually happened to be in the very same building he has his law office in. So I got to see his business that very same night and took pictures there too with Rub3a and Mohammed and baba 3tef. It was so WANASA! (that means like happiness, joy, fun in Kuwaiti Arabic).
I was actually very very very very tired after all that and the long day and short night from before, and was planning just to surprise them and then go back to the hotel. But they had other plans for me. We went back to the celebration and had some more fun and it was my first hefla so you can imagine how wanasa it was for me to be enjoying this with them. What a perfect time to come mashallah.

After the hefla, they took me to meet cousins and aunts and uncles and we had another celebration there. We danced to drums, the girls all in one family room and the men in the front room and outside. Then we mingled and I met every single person in the house and there were a lot of people. Everyone was soo nice and friendly. It was great to be able to use my Arabic speaking skills too.
The night of fun continued. They told me they would not let me sleep! They took me to see Amman and then we went to the family house and talked and laughed about what had happened that day. Then we prayed fajr and I think they took me back to the hotel at that point if memory serves.
I slept only a couple hours because I had plans to go to the Dead Sea with my friends but our schedules got mixed up so in the end just one of my two friends, Lama, came with me and my friend who helped me get to the hefla took us. I was not only exhausted by this point, I was practically dead tired... My eyelids were so heavy like lead and i had to prop them open with my fingers just to see the scenery on our way to the Dead Sea. But i was determined to see all my friends and go to the Dead Sea before heading for Kuwait, and my flight was only in a few hours to top it off.
But even though I was sooo tired, I was having soo much fun with my friends and we were laughing about my sleepiness the whole way there. Sometimes we would be talking and suddenly I would catch myself sleeping. When we finally arrived in Mathaba, we were running late so we didn't have time to meet one of my friends who lives there. We just went to see how they make mosaics, which the city is well-known for, then to an old church full of these mosaics and then we headed for the dead sea. We got as far as the cliff overlooking the dead sea, and went to a church there that was commemorating the prophet Moses (pbuh) and showed where he once may have traveled. We saw the Dead Sea from there. there was a security check point or ticket place to see this viewpoint and church, and they though that Lama was the tourist and that I was Jordanian because I was wearing hijab and she wasn't. Funny, because it was the other way around. After some photos and walking around, and of course grabbing a quick shawarma, we had to turn back because we were worried we would miss my flight at that point as there was still a ways to go before we would get there.

When we got back to Mathaba, Lama got for me a Red Bull. Before this I had never really been desperate enough to drink Red Bull, as usually a coffee or tea would suffice. I tried to avoid all processed drinks and sodas let alone red bull which is full or caffeine and I don't know what other chemicals and stuff. But at this point I was sooooooooo exhausted that I figured it wouldn't hurt to see if Red Bull really does pick u up and give you wings. I drank it in one swallow. Surprisingly, I felt instantly revived. So my friends got me like 3 more. I was wide awake by the time I was heading back. When I would start to feel the sleepiness overtake me again, I would just down another can of Red Bull. It was my best friend that day. Although, I realized soon that after the high, comes the low, and it was sooooo hard to make it through that day after all that sugar and caffeine high. But it sure was funny.

Hehe, now I realize why I never wrote this post before, because I knew it was going to take a long time, because there was so much to tell! :p But I digress... As I was saying, we were heading back quickly because my other friends wanted to see me one last time before I would go to the airport. So I met them at my hotel lobby so I could pick up my luggage and then head for the airport. They offered to take me to the airport, so we went in the car. Then, I suddenly realized we were not heading to the airport, but back to their home! They wanted me to have lunch with them before leaving! I was honored, but also nervous I might miss my flight! But I forgot about the flight when I arrived and found everyone there waiting for me to eat with them. It was so nice. Now that was Jordanian hospitality at its best.

We ate together outside on the patio under the grapes and grape vines and I couldn't help but remember the many verses in the Injil (Gospels) referring to the grape vine. Also, the olive trees were everywhere in Jordan. I even ate one right off the tree because I wanted to have the full experience of the tree, to taste the reality of actually seeing a tree growing olives right in front of me on the side of the street and remembering so many references to olives, olive oil, and olive trees in the bible. It was a beautiful experience to feel connected to the religious past in this way, a very deep sensory experience for me.

Oh yeah, before I left Jordan, I even shot a gun! it was sooo wanasa, we did target practice on a can with the boys of the house. Then baba 3tef came out and saw me hitting the can dead on. It was too cool. They like to fish. I hope to go back and fish with them someday inshallah. That would be another experience remeniscent of the stories I had grown up reading in the injil. Masha Allah. Such a spiritual journey this has all been for me even until today.
Oh yeah!
I forgot to mention that the family knew I liked mansaf so they took me to eat it at one of the best restaurants for mansaf in Jordan. It was soooooooooooooooooooooooo yummy. I prefer to eat with my hands, like is an old Arab custom and it is said that the prophets (pbut) including Mohammed (saaws) used their hands to eat too. So when I went to eat the mansaf naturally I wanted my first time eating mansaf in its country of origin to be with my hands. The family laughed because everyone in the restaurant was eating with forks!!! But I went ahead and used my hands anyway with no shame and so they also did too. We still laugh about that day even today. We also wen to have this yummy milk drink that had honey and nuts and some kind of sweet cream or cheese in it. It was soo good but I don't know what it's called. Anyway as soon as I find the name I will let you know.
I also had an Arabic breakfast and it was soooooo nice too. I had olives and bread with zatar and fresh cheese and vegetables. It was so healthy, which is one thing I loved about Jordan and Palestine so much, there was an abundance of fruit and vegetables. Mmmmmmm, so healthy.

Anyway, the day I was supposed to catch my flight, after the lunch, my friends raced to get me to the airport in time. We saw our lives flash before our eyes many times on the freeway. It was craziness. We were driving like maniacs. It was scarey but so funny at the same time. I wonder if I have some of that caught on tape. Inshallah.. hehehe. Anyway, we finally made it to the airport and they got me quickly through security.
They were all so nice. I was going to miss Rub3a so much because she was the sister I never had and her brothers were also very special each of them. but I felt such an amazing connection with her, like with no friend I have ever had. There is a proverb that says there is a friendship stronger than a brother and that is what I have with her I feel in my heart. May Allah bless her heart. Anyway, I got through security so quickly and easily, which was a great relief in comparison to the stark difference of the Israeli security.
However when i finally got to the front of the line at the check-in counter I was informed that I was too late for my flight. It was early in the day however and there were many flights and airlines that fly to Kuwait and Kuwait is only a couple of hours plane ride away. But that turned out to be the last flight of the day for my airline and I tried to get a flight on any other airline to no avail. Not only that, but they were all telling me they were not only booked for that day but also for the next entire week!!! Here I was stranded in Jordan and my school was to begin that week and I was supposed to meet my roommate coming from the states that very day! But for some reason it was not Allah's will for me to leave. You know I had even thought to take a bus to Kuwait! hehe. In the end, thanks to my friends, Baba 3tef has good connections because he is such a great man and everyone who knows him loves him, at least that's what I imagine, that he was able to get for me a flight on the very same airline the next day! So I was saved, late, but saved. I was again stuck at the airport but happy to be able to get to Kuwait in time for school. Alhamdulellah. But the flight ended up also being very late I cannot remember why, but thanks to this, I made it on time as we once again had to race for this flight! hehehe. But thanks to missing the first flight, I was able to fly between two very nice people, a Kuwaiti man and a Palestinian woman. The Kuwaiti man was like an angel to me and I tell this story in an earlier post. At any rate, Jordan was an amazing experience and place and I cannot wait to go back again very soon. As soon as Allah will allow it. I miss my friends, I hope to see more of my friends and I hope to go to Aqaba and Petra and actually get to touch the Dead Sea, not just see it from afar, although to see it was somehow very spiritual and fulfilling for me too.
Well, it is so late now, I so I will leave it at that. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you can also visit Jordan soon too insha Allah.
was-salam, mimi

(Assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah wa barakatoh) اسلام و اليكم ورحمة الله و بركاته

Assalamu alaikoum,
I was reflecting about this greeting that is common not only to Arabs but to Muslims around the world. I was wondering where it came from and why Muslims adhere to it so much without straying from it, especially the more religious Muslims who seem to have a hard time even cutting it down to just Salam. I always tried to say it because I remembered an aya (verse) from the Quran that had mentioned that whenever someone greets us we should respond with an even better greeting, which explained to me why when someone says "assalamu alaikoum" many do not just respond with "alaikoum salam" but add to it by replying: "alaikoum salam WA RAHMATALLAH WA BARAKATOH" which means basically and peace be upon u and Allah's mercy and blessings. Here it is:

وَإِذَا حُيِّيْتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّواْ بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَسِيبًا 4:86
Waitha huyyeetum bitahiyyatin fahayyoo biahsana minha aw ruddooha inna Allaha kana AAala kulli shayin haseeban
4:86 But when you are greeted with a greeting, answer with an even better greeting, or [at least] with the like thereof. [105] Verily, God keeps count indeed of all things.

But I noticed when looking up this aya again that it did not specify what words exactly one should say when greeting. So I then asked myself, why then do Muslims seem to insist on using "assalamu alaikoum" and saying it also in Arabic? Why don't we just say "peace" or "hello my friend" "sup dawg" or any other friendly or caring greeting or in any other language for that matter. That is when my good friend said that Assalamu Alaikoum is specifically the greeting of the angels, so what better greeting is better than that?
And he pointed out other places that mention greetings in the Quran, and that is when it made sense for me that Assalamu alaikoum really is the best greeting, and so why not use the best? Here they are:
[6:54]
When those who believe in our revelations come to you, you shall say, "Salmun `Alaykum (Peace be upon you). Your Lord has decreed that mercy is His attribute. Thus, anyone among you who commits a transgression out of ignorance, and repents thereafter and reforms, then He is Forgiving, Most Merciful."

[7:46]
A barrier separates them, while the Purgatory is occupied by people who recognize each side by their looks. They will call the dwellers of Paradise: "Peace be upon you." They did not enter (Paradise) through wishful thinking.

[13:23]
They enter the gardens of Eden, together with the righteous among their parents, their spouses, and their children. The angels will enter in to them from every door.

[13:24]
"Peace be upon you, because you steadfastly persevered. What a joyous destiny."

[16:32]
The angels terminate their lives in a state of righteousness, saying, "Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise (now) as a reward for your works."

[27:59]
Say, "Praise be to GOD and peace be upon His servants whom He chose. Is GOD better, or the idols some people set up?"

[28:55]
When they come across vain talk, they disregard it and say, "We are responsible for our deeds, and you are responsible for your deeds. Peace be upon you. We do not wish to behave like the ignorant ones."

[39:73]
Those who reverenced their Lord will be led to Paradise in throngs. When they get to it, and its gates are opened, its guards will say, "Peace be upon you; you have won. Therefore, you abide herein forever."

and in conclusion, assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah

Winter in Kuwait

A friend and former classmate of mine from Arabic class in my university back in the states who is currently in Moldova of all places recently asked me some good questions as he is pondering where he will continue his Arabic language studies. He is also planning to get his masters in the American University of Beirut. I thought his questions were good enough to just write a blog post addressing them since I have not addressed these questions in here yet.

One of his questions was regarding studying Arabic in a school and in a country where most people can speak English. It's true that I may have learned Arabic more quickly in another Arabic country but I don't regret choosing Kuwait because it was an excellent transition country for someone who has never had any experience in the Middle East before. Also, I was able to learn a lot about the culture and feelings of the people of this region because I can have deep conversations with the people here since they can speak English.

It has been a great place for learning about the Arab world and for learning Islam and for getting used to life in the Middle East. However, I do hope to spend some time in another Arabic speaking country to force myself to learn better Arabic. I have learned a lot of Arabic here too though. I am thinking it would be great to go to Syria to learn Arabic if I get the chance, although I would love to live in Jordan for some time. I really like it there and the people too and my friend Sohaira says the language institute she is attending there is excellent. I took an Arabic grammar course here in my unversity and I was the only non-Arab in the class. It was a big challenge but I learned so much about the grammar. I really enjoyed it. Now I am just taking basic Arabic courses and Farsee too.

As for the climate of Kuwait, it is very different from any place I have ever lived. Right now it is about 7 degrees celcius but it has been colder. I am so surprised by this. I expected it to be somewhat cold in the winter, but not this cold!!

My friend wanted to know how the Kuwaitis here are treating me. My university is very diverse so I have classmates from all over the Middle East and everyone is so nice with me. AlhamdulEllah. I have been received well by all the Arabs here including the Kuwaitis. Not only this but I have also been welcome into their homes and shared with their families and made lifelong friends. From the time I was on the plane coming to Kuwait I was befriended by the people of Kuwait.

As for being accepted as a Hispanic American Muslim convert girl student in Kuwait, I have had no problems that I can think of. People treat me great and I feel so welcome here. I have not felt any sort of discrimination. People are very happy when they hear I am a convert to Islam and are always eager to hear my testimony. Never once have I felt like an outsider here. Sometimes I even forget I'm not from here! :p People seem interested in people who convert to Islam since they for the most part grew up being Muslim and don't know anything else. They often have questions for me about Judaism and Christianity. I have never felt any tension as we discuss religion. On the contrary they tend to be friendly, loving, and open discussions. I actually had a very similar experience living among the Jewish people in Israel.

Kuwait has a parliament and even a female minister, the minister of Education, Noriah Al-Sabeeh. Recently the parliament has been trying to pressure her out of office and yesterday there was a critical session at parliament and our school went there all dressed in T-shirts that had written on them freedom to choose and know your constitution. One of the big issues in Kuwait these days is that there are people in parliament who wish for all schools including the American University of Kuwait to be completely segregated between men and women. There are many who oppose this as they see it as being un-Islamic. The students went to parliament in support of the minister remaining in office. There was some drama at the session but it was only shown on local Kuwait television of course. At any rate, I will keep you posted as to what happens.

Happy Islamic new year!!

My Mother is in Kuwait

Assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah,
I am not the only Muslim in my family anymore. :) AlhamdulEllah. My mother and I are very close and she was my greatest teacher growing up. From the time I was old enough to walk, I remember listening to her singing Hamd to God and sitting with her as she read parts of the Injil and Taurah and finding her in her room with her head covered on her knees praying and crying. She was so good with all people, and welcoming. She was always helping others and so loving for the sake of God. She rarely missed church to hear the sermon and to go to bible school and only invited me, never pressuring me to follow her examples.

When I became a teenager, the bible became alive to me. What was once a book of stories with morals, and difficult words, became a live manual for my life. It was what I opened to find comfort and peace when tormented by one problem or another. It was what I opened when I needed to learn how to act in different situations and it was what I opened to learn more about God and how I could love him more and serve him better in my life. But something was off. I became very committed to attending church and bible school yet the more I learned and grew spiritually, the more I felt like we were missing the mark on something.

Most parts of the bible taught me so many good things, yet I began asking myself why do we need to be saved by Jesus when the bible clearly states we have forgiveness from God if we just repent and believe in Him? Even Jesus himself taught this. I felt strange and confused worshiping both God and Jesus. I had no problem understanding the logic based on faith for seeing God and Jesus as one, but I just didn't see why this had to be. I began worshiping God alone when others would be worshipping Jesus' name in hamd, I would focus on just the name of God.

When I would worship Jesus, I felt as though in a way I was offending Jesus and taking away from the message he was brought here to give. Even when I had read the bible many times and reflected on Jesus' words, the idea of ascribing others to God just seemed unnecessary and only seemed to further confuse the concept of worshiping one God. It was so much easier to just focus on one name on one complete entity of God, not a trinity.

When I began praying directly to Allah and worshiping him without worshiping Jesus, it gave me so much peace and allowed me to grow spiritually more than ever. I loved Jesus and it was great to give him his honor as a prophet of God. I loved Jesus and felt I was dishonoring his name by worshiping him as God. It was the message of Jesus that first brought me to the right path, and what motivated me to keep asking the hard questions, and pursuing truth and justice and complete submission to Allah.

When people would ask me later on, if I was the only Muslim in my family, I would tell them I was not the only, I was the first. I was hoping of course that others in my family would someday also find Islam. However, never did I imagine that so soon on of them would do it, and for it to be my own mother was the greatest gift I have ever had. I had a feeling in my heart she might, just because she loved God so much and wanted so much to submit to Him.

What is interesting is that she converted to Islam when I was halfway across the world from her. When I was back home we used to study the Quran together and she used to ask me questions so I gave her a Quran. When I was in Kuwait, we would save part of our phone conversation for talking about Islam. One night, a month ago, my mother told me that she was thinking she might convert to Islam when she would be in Kuwait with me for winter break. But when she was thinking that, she realized she already believed in one God and that Mohammed was also a messenger of Allah. So she converted on her own. AlhamdulEllah.

When she came to Kuwait for winter break, she prayed Eid salat with me for Eid Al-Adhah. It was a beautiful experience to be able to pray in the mosque with my mom and for it to be her first time. We went to Dr. Mohammed Al-Awthy's home and my mom met his family too. He wanted to interview her for his show for Ramadan.

I am sooooo happy for her. I don't have words to express how happy I am for my mom. There is no word that can do justice for what I feel in my heart. AlhamdulEllah. May all of us find the straight path.

Naciones Unidas - United Nations - اللمميل متاحدة

Assalamu alaikoum,
It has been too long since I last posted. So sorry about that! I have been busy every second for the past month. AlhamdulEllah. Since I wrote last, many things have happened. In this post I will just concentrate on my United Nations experience. I won the diplomacy award at the Model United Nations Conference in Bahrain and I was appointed as Chair of the Atomic Energy Committee for next year. It was a very exciting conference.

I worked day and night on preparing for this. I was required to prepare at least one resolutions for the three issues to be addressed at the conference which were; Women Empowerment, Drug Enforcement, and Illegal Arms Trafficking. I wanted to be extra prepared so I researched well on all three topics in the event I would have an opportunity to submit a resolution for any. I created a resolution for drug enforcement before the conference as that was my main focus, but all three were important to me because I was addressing them all in light of globalization, integration, mechanisms for implementation of resolutions, and education.

As I stated in an earlier post, I represented the Republic of Panama in the General Assembly. I have to say that I feel I couldn't have had a better set of teammates. My university's MUN team was so great. I consider them like family. We really work well together and I have learned so much from each one of my teammates, and I share my award with them because they are also winners and they helped me to succeed in more ways that I can count. They are an inspiration to me. I will miss them all so much when I go back to the states, but they will all be in my heart. The delegate of Eritrea, one of my teammates from Kuwait, is particularly amazing when it comes to public speaking. I wish we could have taped the conference so I could share his speeches and debates with you. There are no words to truly give him justice.

My roommate and closest comrade at the conference was the delegate of Kuwait. We agreed to co-submit a resolution on Women's Empowerment together after we heard USA's and found it to be redundant to what already has been proposed by the UN and NGOs. Our resolution was actionable and sustainable and more well-rounded. We succeeded in persuading more than half of the GA to support ours instead and the USA's resolution failed after a debate was conducted for and against it.

A crisis arose in the middle of our conference; the PKK attacked Turkish troops in Northern Iraq and we had to come together to propose a resolution. We came up with an amazing and diplomatic solution and it past with 54 and 6 against, something like that. Then, it was time to submit drug resolutions. At this point, many delegates approached me and asked if I was doing a drug resolution and that they would sign under mine if I was. Even the delegate of the US choose to sign under me. My resolution had 36 clauses! A record for Model United Nations and it past with 55 for and 1 against, something like that. It was unbelievable.

My approach throughout the conference was the theme of finding mechanisms and ways to make resolutions actionable, not just pretty-sounding. I also focused on the themes of sustainability, education and increasing awareness and knowledge that leads to empowerment, and international cooperation and regional integration. I also emphasized the importance of law enforcement and using innovation to create smarter and more sustainable ways to connect each other and form networks for better communication and exchange of knowledge.

I am so thankful to Allah for the wonderful opportunities he has given me since coming to the Middle East. I am EXCEEDINGLY and ABUNDANTLY blessed, masha Allah. My cup runneth over.... SubhanAllah. Allah is soooo gracious and merciful. I have learned so much in such a short time about myself, my deen, my purpose and so much more here. I have been blessed with the privilege of having so many new oustanding friends and colleagues that I learn from and love more every day that passes. The MUN team is just one example of the many things I have to be grateful for. I hope that the skills I have earned through it will serve to make a difference in Kuwait and wherever else I get the opportunity to contribute in some way to the future of our global community. I am with my mom now, which is something else I must write about, but I have to study for my International Business test and Arabic grammar quiz for tomorrow. I have uploaded the documentary I made of my most recent experience in Bahrain for the Model United Nations conference. I hope you enjoy it!! :)

Emigration هاجروا (haajaru)

According to Merriam-Webster's definition: em·i·grate

Function:

intransitive verb

Etymology:

Latin emigratus, past participle of emigrare, from e- + migrare to migrate

Emigrate: to leave one's place of residence or country to live elsewhere

I was talking the other day with my friend from Iran, Reza. He really has a beautiful mind and spirit mashallah. May Allah give him the success. We were talking about the science competition he did when he was younger which he won first prize in all of Iran. He had the chance to meet the son of Mahmoud Hessabi, the father of physics in Iran that day. Hessabi was a prominent Iranian scientist, researcher and distinguished professor of the University of Tehran. He was also the only Iranian student of Albert Einstein. I had not heard of him so Reza forwarded his biography to me. He pointed out that like me, Hessabi went to live in an Arabian country where he learned the Quran in good way, and went to an American university in an Arabian country.

Reza was telling me how it is a good thing to emigrate for the sake of Allah. He was saying that all great people have traveled, including of course Mohammad (saaws) who emigrated from Mecca to Madinah. He said we should be willing to leave everything we have, everything, and get out of our comfort zone, leave behind what we know, and then gather the new. You really cannot do that without a journey and remaining in another place, and through that journey for Allah's sake we have the hope of obtaining His (swt) mercy and forgiveness.
For example, I took this journey to live in the middle east and to study in Kuwait in order to grow as a Muslim and further development my relationship with Allah (subhana wa ta'ala).

He went on to say there is an aya in the Quran that talks about this idea. In Surat Baqarah (2:218) -

ان الذين امنوا والذين هاجروا وجاهدوا في سبيل الله اولئك يرجون رحمة الله والله غفور رحيم
Transliteration	Inna allatheena amanoo waallatheena hajaroo wajahadoo fee sabeeli Allahi ola-ika yarjoona rahmata Allahi waAllahu ghafoorun raheemun
Literal	That those who believed and those who emigrated and struggled/exerted in God's way/sake ,those hope/expect God's mercy , and God (is) forgiving, most merciful .
Yusuf Ali	Those who believed and those who suffered exile and fought (and strove and struggled) in the path of Allah,- they have the hope of the Mercy of Allah: And Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
Pickthal	Lo! those who believe, and those who emigrate and strive in the way of Allah, these have hope of Allah's mercy. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Arberry	But the believers, and those who emigrate and struggle in God's way -- those have hope of God's compassion; and God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
Shakir	Surely those who believed and those who fled (their home) and strove hard in the way of Allah these hope for the mercy of Allah and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Sarwar	The believers and the Emigrants from Mecca who fight for the cause of God, indeed have hope in receiving the mercy of God; God is All-forgiving and All-merciful.
Khalifa	Those who believe, and those who emigrate and strive in the cause of GOD, have deserved GOD's mercy. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
Hilali/Khan	Verily, those who have believed, and those who have emigrated (for Allahs Religion) and have striven hard in the Way of Allah, all these hope for Allahs Mercy. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful.
H/K/Saheeh	Indeed, those who have believed and those who have emigrated and fought in the cause of Allah those expect the mercy of Allah. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Malik	Surely those who are believers, and migrated and struggled in the path of Allah, they can hope for the mercy of Allah; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."[218]
QXP	Those who attain belief and those who emigrate in the Cause of Allah and struggle to establish the Divine Value System, can rightfully hope for the Grace of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Absolver of imperfections, Merciful.
Maulana Ali	Those who believed and those who fled (their homes) and strove hard in Allah's way -- these surely hope for the mercy of Allah. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Free Minds	Those who believe, and those who have immigrated and strived in the cause of God; these are seeking God's mercy, and God is Forgiving, Merciful.
Qaribullah	But those who believe and those who migrate and struggle in the way of Allah, those, have hope of the Mercy of Allah. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
George Sale	But they who believe, and who fly for the sake of religion, and fight in God's cause, they shall hope for the mercy of God; for God is gracious and merciful.
JM Rodwell	But they who believe, and who fly their country, and fight in the cause of God may hope for God's mercy: and God is Gracious, Merciful.
Asad	Verily, they who have attained to faith, and they who have forsaken the domain of evil and are striving hard in God's cause - these it is who may look forward to God's grace: for God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

When he gave me this verse, I noticed that in the original Arabic, the word being translated most commonly into emigrate is the word haajaru. It sounded a lot like the word for the Haaj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is the spiritual and physical journey all Muslims try to take at some point in their lives according to the Quran. I wanted to look deeper into the meaning of the root that both words Haaj and Haajaru come from, so I looked at all of the translations of this verse from the Quran and then went to my dictionary. I found that it does mean a type of a journey, of shedding things we hold onto and venturing out leaving the old behind and taking on new things.
The definition for the root of the word هاجروا (haajaru) - " هجرhajara/hijraan هجران " in the Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Arabic is:
to emigrate; to dissociate o.s., separate, part, secede, keep away (from), part company, part with, to give up, renounce, forgo, avoid (something), to abandon, surrender, leave behind (something), relinquish, leave, give up, vacate something in favor of something else II to induce s.o. to emigrate III to emigrate; to migrate, drift away (from an area); to be carried away, be in ecstasy, be out of this world (because of, by) IV to leave, abandon, give up (something); to talk nonsense, talk through one's hat VI to desert one another, part company, separate, break up

هجر - hajr: abandonment, forsaking, leaving, separation; avoidance, abstention; separation from the beloved one; hottest time of the day

هجرة - hijra: departure, exit; emigration, exodus; immigration (to); abandonment, giving up (of sth), renunciation (of); الهجرة the hijra, the emigration of the Prophet Mohammad (saaws) from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD; الهجرة من الريف rural exodus, migration from rural areas

هجرى - hijri: of the Hegira, pertaining to Mohammad's (saaws) emigration (sana) a year of the Hegira, a year of the Muslim Era (beginning with his emigration)


هجرة - hujra/hijra: agricultural settlement of the Wahabi Ikhwan in Nejd

مهجر (mahjar) - place of emigration, retreat, refuge, sanctuary; emigration; settlement, colony


I highly recommend living some place different from your own. It is such a great learning opportunity and a humbling experience. It has really contributed to my spiritual growth and of course the best of any emigration is the one you do for the sake of Allah and forsaking the bad in your life.

By the way, this is a great link for finding various English translations of the Quran - http://islamawakened.com/Quran/

Making Progress in Kuwait

Assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah wa barakatoh,
Sorry for the delay in posting, it's been a busy week. Every day the past week I have wanted to share with you but by the time I get to posting, I'm too sleepy to write. I hope I can still remember the details of this past week.

On Saturday of last week, I found out at my meeting for the Mock United Nations team that I was selected as one of the 6 delegates to go to the Bahrain MUN conference. I am very excited about that. I will be representing Panama in the General Assembly. It is a way to learn about how the United Nations work while at the same time addressing and learning about important global issues. I feel very honored to be representing my university in Kuwait there. I was also hoping to have the chance to see more of the gulf countries while I was in Kuwait and this gave me that chance!

That same day, I went with some other students at my school to the orphanage here in Kuwait. We took many toys and games and things for the children and played with them all afternoon. It was very nice but at the same time it is hard to see that there is so much suffering in the world. It inspires me to work harder to make a difference. I hope there was some way we could raise funds to improve the facilities there for the children. It seemed pretty barren when we went and to not have a family or parents is hard enough let alone grow up in a miserable place. I hope we can do something about that, insha Allah.

The other day I went with Sofia and Kara to futoor at her in-laws' home and there were about 25 ladies there. It was a lot of fun. We were making up for the days we missed in fasting during Ramadaan. Sofia gave a nice lecture about the pillars of Islam after dinner. Sofia has been so helpful to me while I have been here in Kuwait and she is very gifted at teaching Islam masha Allah.

On Tuesday, the honorable ex-president of Costa Rica came to do a speech at my university. His name is Jose Maria Figures-Olsen. He has done many innovative and inspiring things for the world and for his country and region. He has also inspired many people to do the same, including me. I hope to make a difference in this world in one way or another and insha Allah Allah will help me to do it, and I will give it my best effort. I actually had the chance to meet him. Our first meeting was not at all how I imagined or expected it to be. Before he arrived, I had asked the school if it would be possible for me just to say hello but they told me it was not likely because of his security and because it was a very controlled event. They told me however that he would be answering questions after his speech, so I could try to ask him one. So I went to the speech early, waiting to get a good seat. I was standing outside the conference room with my Kuwaiti friends. People were coming in and out of the conference door as I stood out in the hall preparing for the event. All of a sudden, Mr. Figueres' head poked out of the door. Noone recognized him right away except me. He is very unassuming-looking and so is his character, very approachable. I immediately greeted him with "assalamu alaikoum," to which he responded "wa alaikoum salam," with a very nice accent I might add. I then asked him "como estas??" which is Spanish for; how are you? He responded and from there we got into a conversation. He was shocked to have found a Spanish-speaking person in the middle of Kuwait and more so that I was from a country in his region of Central America. We immediately hit it off and made a connection. We talked some more and I introduced him to my friends and some of my teammates as well. His speech was absolutely amazing. Very well done and very inspiring. It lasted about 2 and a half hours but it went by so fast. Everyone fell in love with his way and his words. He has a way with people that is electric. He has an amazing way of thinking and such an open mind. He has done a lot for my region and my country through his different approach to politics, business and change. His speech was about Global Warming, the impact of business on the environment and how addressing ecological concerns is a business opportunity in itself. He is a big proponent for integration, or regional cooperation and developing regional relationships based on respect. I hope I can work with him in some capacity some day. He made a note to give to my mom who had worked in the Ministry of Agriculture just as he had at one point. She used to do a lot for social problems among the indigenous people in Guatemala and also admires Mr. Figueres. You can read some of his speeches to get a better idea at www.josemariafigueres.org

I am excited because I finally registered for an Arabic course at Kuwait University. AKHEERAN!!!!!! (That's Arabic for FINALLYYY!!!) ALHAMDULELLAH
It will begin on Sunday. It is 2 hours a day for 2 days a week. The teacher seems very good. I also started my Tajweed class today. It is excellent, alhamdulEllah. We learned many aspects of the character of the letters in Tajweed, and the terminology that go with them. It is a very fascinating subject to study. It reminds me of linguistics. Tonight we learned some Tajweed rules and worked on memorizing Surah At-takwir (Arabic: سورة التكوير ) (The Overthrowing). (Recitation of Takwir by Su'ud Shuraim in Mecca http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzgcCw_yy5g) If you want to learn more about tajweed rules, you can find some on
http://quran.al-islam.com

Prophet Mohammad's (saaws) Night Journey to Al Masjid Al-Aqsa

Bismillahir rahmanir rahim,

I was looking at the photo I took of the Aqsa Masjid in Jerusalem. It is one of my favorite photos from my trip. The sky looks amazing, and it was an amazing day being in this holy place, where many of the prophets (pbut) once lived and stood. The spiritual energy was still in the air even today. I was thinking to myself that I had yet to read about the story of the Aqsa mosque and how it related to the Prophet Mohammad (saaws). I had heard the story from many Muslims, and as most Muslims I know believe that he actually prayed there on his magical night journey to Jerusalem from Mecca. I had actually read what was written about this in the Quran when I read the Quran all the way through but had not truly reflected on it until now.

I remembered right away that when I was thinking about where this story was in the Quran that it I would most likely find it again in Surat Al-Isra, because Isra is the word my Muslim friends used when referring to the prophet's (pbuh) night journey.

Here is what I read there about it in Surah Al-Isra:
Exalted is He who took His slave for a journey by night from Al Masjid Al-Haraam to Al Masjid Al-Aqsa, the neighborhood whereof We have blessed in order that We might show him of our Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the Al-Hearer, the All-Seer. [Qur'an 17:1]
Subhana allathee asra biAAabdihi laylan mina almasjidi alharami ila almasjidi alaqsa allathee barakna hawlahu linuriyahu min ayatina innahu huwa alssameeAAu albaseeru

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ (17:1)

So clearly our prophet (pbuh) did take a miraculous night journey to Al-Aqsa Masjid from Mecca. Some people might leave it at this, but not me of course. I thought to myself, you know? In Christianity, there is so much focus on "the church." Either insinuating the Vatican where they supposedly have intercession powers for all Christians (Catholics) and have power in dictating doctrine within the religion. Then there is the church in the sense that that is where one goes to worship, and that a Christian is not necessarily a good Christian unless he regularly attends church. Yet, I thought to myself always as a child, is Church any holier than any other place? What makes it holy? I actually loved attending church because it was a chance for believers to come together and pray and worship together and motivate each other and bring tithings and learn from the scriptures. I especially loved the bible studies. But all of these things can happen anywhere really. At someone's home or in the park for example. It is not restricted to a church building.
This is also true with regards to Judaism and Synagogues. They are not restricted to the synagogue, any place can be a place of worship or prayer. Yet, although this is true, I often felt as though the emphasis on the church as a bit over the top. The real church is the actual people.
At any rate, with regards to Islam, I was excited when I first began to consider Islam because I felt there was less emphasis on the building and more on the inward dedication to Allah. The first image that would pop into my head about Islam would not be someone in church clothes walking to church on a Sunday, it would be someone just praying in prostration to Allah. The very first image I see is that.
As for the mosques, I was thinking to myself, hey wait a minute, was Aqsa Masjid really there during the life of the prophet (pbuh)?? It looked old, but still.... Hmmm.... I felt a bit guilty that I was even asking myself this, but I felt like even hard questions we should ask ourselves if we really want to reflect as Allah asks us to.
The holy Quran says that the prophet went to the "farthest mosque," and people say this is referring to the mosque in Jerusalem that is now called "Al-Aqsa," which actually means "The Farthest." So when Allah is saying that he travelled to Al Aqsa, He is saying he traveled to the farthest. It wasn't called Al-Aqsa in the prophet's (pbuh) time however, it was called more similar to what the Jews had called and what it was known as in Abraham's time (Beteyel in Hebrew meaning House of Allah, or also known as Bet Ha-Miqdash) and in Arabic; Bait Al Maqdis, House of Holiness.

Additionally, he mentioned it was a place that was blessed in a special way. What other place can you think of other than Mecca that has a special blessing upon it? The holy city of course, Jerusalem! As for the problem with the mosque not existing yet, or did it? Depends on your choice of words. The word "masjid" is commonly used today to refer to the building shaped like a dome with a little crescent moon on top where Muslims go to worship. But is that what it actually means? All Arabic words have roots, and when we look at this root sa-ja-da (to prostrate), and it was said in Al-Sihah: Masjad with a fathah refers to one's forehead which is the place involved in prostration. So the word masjid means a place where one prostrates. I know there is more to it than that, but with my limited knowledge that is all I can share about it at this point but it is very fascinating so I encourage you to use this to look into it further yourself.

As I was saying, since it actually just means a place of prostration or worship to Allah, then of course the surah still makes complete sense whether there was an actual building there or not. However, there are hadeeth that support that there was a mosque built by that time and that Caliph Umar used to go into it as well. Also, it is known to have existed even in King Solomon's day (pbuh) and that he built it alongside the temple in the name of Allah. It is also said to go even further back, to Abraham's time, named by God as a holy place of worship, and maybe even further than that. What is interesting to me about this other than the obvious reasons, is how something that at first might seem like something soooo separate from Christianity or Judaism when they look at the mosque in Jerusalem, yet if it was actually built by the same prophets all three groups believe in it shows how we are all of the same faith in the same God. So this mosque is actually a symbol of the link between all of us. It is a holy place of worship. Established by our forefathers in the faith.

So it is likely that their was an actual mosque in some form, maybe not exactly as it is structured today, but there was something, according to many scholars. However, the point is not what the building looked like, even if it looked exactly as Aqsa looks now, or if it was totally different, more or less extravagant, bigger or smaller.

You see, my point in this post is that it is not important whether there was a building. Islam is not about a building, it is about our worship and obedience of Allah. So even if people want to claim that the story is a total myth, they should think twice because the Quran is from Allah and all that is from Allah is good, and the prophet Mohammad (pbuh) would have been able to pray in Jerusalem no matter what Aqsa Mosque looked like at the time. Just an interesting thing to point out on the side, not all Muslims pray in mosques as we know them today actually, back in history and even today in some places in the world.
There is a very nice linguistic, scholarly study on this topic that you can read for further inspiration at: http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Contrad/External/aqsa.html

Some information from this article:

In 49-50 AH / 670 CE, Bishop Arculfus, a Christian visitor in Jerusalem, reported:

On the famous place where once stood the temple, the Saracens worship at a square house of prayer, which they have built with little art, of boards and large beams on the remains of some ruins...^[2]

2. What Is A Masjid?

We will begin by dealing with the word masjid from both the linguistic and legal points of view. The Arabic word for "mosque" is masjid. Discussing with the word masjid from a linguistic point of view al-Zarkashi says:

Masjid from a linguistic point of view

The Prophet's night journey was from "the inviolable place of worship" (al-Masjid al-Haram) to "the farthest place of worship" (al-Masjid al-Aqsa). The former is certainly located in Makkah, but what about the latter? The reference to Allah blessing its surroundings (... whose precincts We did bless) suggests a location in the "Holy Land" (cf. 21:81; 7:137; 34:18). Neal Robinson states:

The [Muslim] tradition which identifies it [i.e., al-Masjid al-Aqsa] with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem makes admirable sense in view of the fact that the 'place of worship' (masjid) whose destruction is evoked in v. 7 [i.e., 17:7] is clearly the Temple.^[4]

^{Surah Al-Isra 17:7 -} If ye did well, ye did well for yourselves; if ye did evil, (ye did it) against yourselves. So when the second of the warnings came to pass, (We permitted your enemies) to disfigure your faces, and to enter your Temple as they had entered it before, and to visit with destruction all that fell into their power.

This view is also shared by many western scholars.^[5]

As it was mentioned earlier that masjid refers to a place of prostration without any religious distinction; an excellent example of the usage of the word "masjid" referring to a non-Islamic sanctuary can be seen in the verse 17:7. The verse describes briefly the destruction of the masjid in Jerusalem (i.e., the Temple) by the enemies of Children of Israel.

Since prostration is the most honourable act in prayer because of the nearness of the servant to his Lord, the name of the location was derived from it. This is why we call it masjid [location of sujud / prostration] and not marka` [place of ruku` / inclination].^[7]

In summary, masjid from a linguistic point of view means a "place of prostration" without any religious distinction. From a legal point of view the word masjid in shari`ah constitutes every place on earth that is fit for prostration. In other words masjid does not designate a building but only a "place of prostration"; the place may or may not have the building.

Therefore, no one can claim that the word "masjid" in the Islamic terminology refers necessarily to a building.

Prostration is not restricted to any particular place of the earth. It may also be a metaphor of a construction built for prayer. This is due to the fact that once prayer is authorized everywhere on earth it becomes like a mosque for that purpose. Ibn al-Tin said: "The earth has been made for me a masjid and a means of purification" both were given to the Prophet, peace be upon him, while it was only a place for worship for others and was not a means of purification, because Jesus used to walk around and pray whenever prayer was due.

Before we close this issue, one should realize that verse 17:1 also speaks of "The Sacred Mosque" which is in Makkah around the Ka`bah. Did a building for the mosque exist there in the time of the Prophet? The answer is that the Ka`bah was there but there was no building for the mosque. This further adds to the argument that the word masjid in this verse refers to a place of performing the prostration and does not imply the presence of a "building" in the modern understanding.

The above understanding of the word masjid as a place of worship not building per se is also well supported by archaeological and historic evidence. Below we present a picture of an early mosque in a place called Besor in Occupied Palestine.^[10]

Figure 2: Besor masjid

Figure 3: Besor mosque, The Qiblah

Moshe Sharon comments about the Besor mosque. He says:

To the west of the village on the top of the hill, overlooking the valley and the houses of the village, was the threshing floor, and to the south of it a small open mosque with a rectangular mihrab made of 3 blocks of stones [bottom figure]. The mosque was built to a height of probably two layers of stones, no more than 0.5 m., and was almost square, about 3 x 3 m. and could contain no more than 8-10 men at a time.^[11]

There are many other examples of early mosques from Negev region that are nothing but a few stones arranged to mark the mihrab.^[12,13]

Figure 4: Mosque at Nahal Oded with the upright stone showing the direction of the qibla.

Figure 7: Modern Bedouin open mosque in Transjordan

It is clear from the above pictures that a mosque is simply a place where Muslims prostrate in prayer.

Concerning early mosques, Creswell states:

... their [i.e., Muslims'] architectural resources, before they started in their career of conquest, were barely enough to give expression to their needs. In other words Arabia constituted an almost perfect architectural vacuum... The first mosques in the great hiras, or half nomadic encampments of the conquest, such as Basra, Kufa and Fustat, were primitive in the extreme, and in Syria the first mosques were churches that had been converted or merely divided: In fact there is no reason for believing that any mosque was built as such in Syria until the time of al-Walid (705-15) or possibly `Abd al-Malik (685-705), for over a generation the Arabs remained quite untouched by any architectural ambitions...^[14]

It is worth noting that the Prophet disliked extravagance and impressive architecture in buildings, especially mosques. The relative simplicity of early mosques is in fact a historical example of how the Prophet's Companions diligently followed his wishes. This is true to a greater extent even today.

3. Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa: A Place Of Prostration For Jews

The Qur'an refers to al-Aqsa as a masjid, a place of prostration. Was this place used for prostration in early times?

Al-Masjid al-Aqsa and the surrounding area (i.e., Dome of the Rock among others) is usually identified with the place where the Temple of Solomon once stood. Bet ha-Miqdash, as the Temple is usually known in Jewish literature, was primarily a place of assembly for the entire people, for purposes of sacrifice, prayer, and thanksgiving. It is in the prayer ritual that prostrations were performed by the priests. Encyclopedia Judaica provides an interesting account of the prayer ritual by the priests of the Temple.

The priest who had gathered the coals entered the sanctuary first, scattered them over the incense altar, prostrated himself, and departed. Then the priest who was chosen by lot to offer the incense entered, bearing the pan of incense in his hand. He was accompanied by a priest appointed for this task who instructed him in the proper ritual, and he did not offer it until he was told: "Offer the incense!" The officiating priest waited until the space between the hall and the altar was cleared of people, offered up the incense, prostrated himself, and departed (Tam. 6; Kelim end of ch. 1). During the offering of the incense in the sanctuary, the people used to gather in the azarah for prayer, and even outside the Temple these times were set aside for prayer (cf. Luke 1:10; Judith 9:1). After the departure of the priest who had offered the incense, all the priests filed into the sanctuary, prostrated themselves, and went out again.^[15]

It is interesting to note that the Temple was considered as the only place of prostration by some Rabbis and that they would refuse to completely prostrate outside the Temple in Jerusalem.^[16]

The Jewish concept of worship has extensive vocabulary, out of which hishtahawah, "to prostrate oneself," is the most frequently used in the Hebrew Bible (86 times).^[17]

4. Yet Another Problem!

In the same article, the missionaries express another objection:

In Yusuf Ali's commentary on this verse we read: "The Farthest Mosque must refer to the site of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem..." So, it is interpreted to be not the building itself, but only the site, the location where it had been. I might be wrong, but this seems to be contradicted by a hadith and Muhammad's understanding that Al-Masjid-ul-Aqs-a is something that is built, not just a location. Al-Masjid-ul-Haram after all was a building.

Beautiful portion of a hadith....

Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 636:

Narrated Abu Dhaar:

......."Wherever the time for the prayer comes upon you, perform the prayer, for all the earth is a place of worshipping for you."

Abraham supposedly (re)built the Kaaba, (and Abraham lived about 2000 BC) and the Temple was built by Solomon in about 958-951 BC.

They identify the Farthest Mosque with the Temple of Solomon without further justification, and point out an error that they had invented themselves. Let us for example see what Imam Ibn Hajar says about this hadith in Fath al-Bari:

His saying (40 years)
Ibn al-Jawzi said: It raises a problem since Abraham built the Ka`bah and Solomon built Bayt al-Maqdis [another name of al-Masjid al-Aqsa cf. Hebrew Bet ha-Miqdash] and there are 1,000 years between them. His evidence for saying that it is Solomon - peace be upon him - who built the Farthest Mosque is the narration of al-Nasa'i from the hadith of `Abd Allah Ibn `Amr Ibn al-`As attributed to the Prophet with an authentic isnad that "When Solomon built Bayt al-Maqdis he asked God the Most High for three things etc." and in al-Tabarani from the hadith of Rafi` Ibn `Umayrah that "David - peace be upon him - started building Bayt al-Maqdis but God inspired him: I shall accomplish its building with Solomon" and the hadith has a story. He [Ibn al-Jawzi] said: "The answer to that is that the mention concerns the first construction and the foundation of the mosque and it is not Abraham who built the Ka`bah for the first time nor is it Solomon who built Bayt al-Maqdis for the first time. Indeed, we have narrated that the first one who built the Ka`bah is Adam. Then his progeny spread out on earth. Therefore, it is possible that one of them built Bayt al-Maqdis. Later, Abraham (re)built the Ka`bah according to the Qur'an." Likewise, al-Qurtubi said: The hadith does not indicate that Abraham and Solomon were the first ones to build the two mosques. It was only a renovation of what had been founded by others.^[18]

After quoting other opinions, Ibn Hajar insists :

But the possibility mentioned by Ibn al-Jawzi is more pertinent. And I found evidence supporting those who say that it is Adam who founded both mosques. For instance, Ibn Hisham mentioned in "Kitab al-Tijan" that when Adam built the Ka`bah, God ordered him to walk to Bayt al-Maqdis and build it and so he did and offered worship in it. And the construction of the House [Arabic: al-Bayt, i.e., the Ka`bah] is famous and we have mentioned earlier the hadith of `Abd Allah Ibn `Amr that the House was elevated in the time of the flood until God showed Abraham its location. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from the way of Ma`mar from Qatadah: God founded the House with Adam when he descended. But Adam missed the voices of the Angels and their prayers. Therefore, God told him: I sent down a House around which [people] will revolve like it is revolved around my Throne, so set out to it. Adam set out to Makkah - He had descended in India, and his steps were enlarged until he reached the House and revolved around it. It was also said that when he had prayed at the Ka`bah, he was ordered to set out to Jerusalem where he built a masjid [mosque] and prayed therein so that it became a qiblah to a part of his progeny.^[19]

In summary, the verse 17:1 refers to the holy locations in Jerusalem and Makkah because they are blessed regardless of the type of mosque at the time of the heavenly trip of Prophet Muhammad. From an Islamic point of view, evidence has been given by eminent Muslim scholars like Ibn Hajar and Ibn al-Jawzi showing that it was Adam who built both mosques for the first time and that the job of Abraham and Solomon was only a renovation/reconstruction of these sanctuaries.

5. Conclusions

The word masjid from a linguistic point of view refers to a place of prostration without any religious distinction. From a legal point of view the word masjid in shari`ah constitutes every place on earth that is fit for prostration.

The verse 17:1 From an Islamic point of view, evidence has been given by eminent Muslim scholars like Ibn Hajar and Ibn al-Jawzi who have discussed the issue. They have shown that it was Adam who built both mosques for the first time and that the duty of Abraham and Solomon was only a renovation/reconstruction of these sanctuaries.

And Allah knows best!

Further Reading

Arda Wiraz Namag (Iranian "Divina Commedia") And The Prophet's^(P) Night Journey

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It can also be argued that it was Islam that restored the sanctity of Temple Mount, and made it a place of prostration and prayer, but I'll leave that topic for another post.....

Thanks to the web site for pooling together these hadith and this research. I hope it was a source of education for those who visit my blog and I hope you will read the full article. Just click on the link and I encourage your own research as well.

Eidekum Mubarak!!!

Eid mubarak everybody!!
Ramadan came to an end this weekend. On the day after Ramadan there is a celebration called "Eid al Fitr." The celebration of the breaking of the month-long fast. For my last futoor the night before Eid, my university held a futoor dinner for all the students at a nice cafe called Diva's just off the Gulf. It was a lot of fun and a lot of people showed up for the event. It was cool to see my classmates outside the context of the school. I had a lot of kanafa for dessert. Yum! I am helplessly addicted to kanafa. It is a dessert made out of cheese! yes! cheese!!

Anyway, I went with Dina and Heba and Kara and we also talked with Nizar and my friend Fatma who is on my soccer team. She is a lot of fun and we always have great conversations. Nizar confirmed for us the coming of Eid the next day which is dictated for Kuwaitis by the sighting of the moon in Saudi Arabia. After we finished our futoor, we went to Al-Rashed mosque where I had done Taraweeh before and went to pray our last Taraweeh prayer. However we got so lost for some reason and so we missed it. But we listened to it over the radio in the car as we tried to figure out where we were. Then we finally got back to civilization an hour later. It was actually a fun experience to get lost with my friends. We were laughing the whole time. Then we went shopping for Eid at Marina Mall. It was sooo packed. There were tons of people looking for their Eid outfits. We ate at chocolate bar and then went home. I wanted to pray the special Eid prayer that is done in the morning on the first day of Eid so Dina sent me the information about it:

Assalamu Alaikom Sister!

Here is all the info I found about Salat Al-Eid:

1. It's a Sunnah.

2. It's 2 rak'at long.

3. It has no athan or iqama, unlike the five prayers.

4. Before going to pray, you must eat something. It is Sunnah to eat an odd number of dates.

5. It is Sunnah to wash up and dress in clean clothes--basically look your best in a modest way.

6. The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) used to walk to the masjid in one path and return from a different path. The main point is that walking (if you are able to) is better than riding.

7. While waiting for the prayer to begin and on your way to the masjid, it is Sunnah to say:

"Allahu Akbar (7 times), Allahu Akbaru Kabeeraan, wal Hamdulillahi katheeraan, wa subHan Allah bukratan wa aseelaan, la ilaha illa Allah waHdah, a'azza jundah, wa sadaqa 'abdah, wa hazama al aHzab waHdah, laa ilaha illa Allah..." Repeat it over and over until the prayer starts.

8. The prayer: In the first rak'a, the Imam will do 7 "Allahu Akbar" before reading from the Qur'an. And 5 "Allahu Akbar" in the second rak'a. These are called takbeeraat (i.e. saying Allahu Akbar and raising your hand). You repeat after the Imam "Allahu Akbar".

Enjoy the prayers!

In the morning around 5:45 the mosques began calling out "Allahu Akbar" and other praises to Allah. It was beautiful. It went on for like 15 minutes. It was so nice to walk to the mosque in the early morning for the first time. It was a nice feeling seeing everyone up early and walking to the mosque and hearing the praises through the loudspeakers of all the mosques in the community. The sky looked amazing. Masha Allah. I was going to go to the Rashed Mosque which is a beautiful mosque and Alafasy was doing the Takbeer there. But then I thought to myself that it would be best for me to go just to a simple mosque and just focus on the salat, not on where it is or who is leading it. It was very nice and felt just as good to share in prayer with others here as it did to share in prayer at the Grand Mosque. Cuz when u really go under the veil of Allah, and commune with him in prayer, u forget where u r, u just feel u are with Allah and no other detail becomes important at that point. Just worship of him. Just hearing his word and receiving it and praising Him and lifting up His name.

Then after the prayer, I went back home to watch the Eid prayer done in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on live TV. It was amazing. So many people were in Mecca. Even the King was at the mosque praying too. Then I took a nap and then a friend brought over some Kanafa. It was just what I was wishing for!! :) I got many nice txt messages from my friends with Eid greetings. I sent some of my own and then went with my friends to the local public market to look at things and go to the stores. Then we had Zubaidy and Raw kibbeh for dinner and then we had some Arabic coffee and went back home.

It was a very nice Eid. I can't believe Ramadaan is over. The memories I have from this month will last a lifetime.

Saying goodbye to Ramadaan :(

Salam,
The last few nights I have been sharing Qiyam prayer with my new friends in Kuwait and attending this late night prayer at the Grand Mosque of Kuwait with them. The last time I went, I went with two of my friends from the university. Their names are Dina and Heba. They are very nice girls. They were so excited because it would be the first time they would be going to the Grand Mosque let alone the late night prayer there. I was also excited for them. We went early and they saved me a spot inside the main inner hall of the mosque in the front rows. It was absolutely breathtaking in there. The spiritual energy in the room was thick like a fog. From the moment we met up to the moment we parted, nothing but the word of Allah was upon our lips, flowing freely from our hearts like a surging spring of water.
We happened to be next to a lady who had converted to Islam from Christianity ten years ago. She was very nice. During the prayers, as I was hearing the beautiful words of Allah in Arabic recited by Sheikh Al-Afasy (yes the same person who prayed in my mosque this summer in the states and who is in the nasheed video posted above), and I still don't understand most of it, although I have noticed I pick up on many more words than before.

Actually, even without understanding it well, the spirit of the word still comes through very strongly. So during this time as I was praising Allah and receiving the spirit of the words of the Quran, a couple things inspired me to suddenly reflect upon our prophet Moses, peace be upon him, and remembering a story from the bible I had read year before about him and his face glowing after having been in communion and talking with Allah.

Whenever he would talk with Allah after the Mt. Sinai experience his face again would shine. Moses would cover his face with a veil so that his shining face would not overwhelm his people. Such is the Glory of God! Imagine when if we will get to see His glory without a veil someday, with our own eyes, imagine that day when we will have that honor if Allah wills it for us insha Allah. A straight forward encounter with the Allmighty Lord of the Worlds. Well, we get that actually. Each day we all can prostrate to our Lord in salat and no veil between his glory and ourselves. He gives us the privilege to commune directly with him every day. Let us remember this when we are in prayer and I think if we do, we can't help but fall to our knees in prostration (or Sujood in Arabic).
Two things inspired me to think upon this story and image of Moses in my head:
1) The beautiful chandeliers and lights from the enormous hall were brightened and the reflection of the lights sparkled into my eyes through the tear drops on my eye lashes during the salat
2) A verse from the Quran my friend next to me, Dina, had just sent to me the day before -

the likeness of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp; the lamp is encased in a glass. The glass is like a brilliant star. It is lit from a blessed tree, an olive tree that is neither of the East nor the West. It is as if its oil would give light even if fire had not touched it. Light upon light. And Allah guides to His light whom He pleases. [This lamp] is in houses that Allah has permitted to be erected wherein His name is oft-remembered. They glorify Him in them in the early morning and evening, men who are not distracted by commerce and trading from the remembrance of Allah. (24: 35-37)

Here is the actual story of Moses' conversation with Allah (swt), these two things inspired me to remember, quoted directly from the scriptures derived from the bible:
Exodus 34:27-35
27 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."
28 Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the LORD's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

In the Taurah, it is even mentioned that the divine glory is so much that it might even cause people to die from being near it, so Allah asked Moses to prohibit the people from coming near Mt. Sinai during that time, even the other priests had to sanctify themselves if they thought to come near.

You know when I read this again, I see that it is somewhat reminiscent of our time fasting during Ramadan. A long period of fasting, reflecting on the word sent from Allah, and salat.

At any rate, the real magical moment for me, other than the light reflecting from my tears inspiring this thought, was that the moment I began thinking upon this image of Moses, at the very same time, the Sheikh Al-Afasy mentioned "Musa" the name of Moses in Arabic. Apparently just as I was envisioning this story, he was reciting from the Quran about Moses, peace be upon him, at the very same moment. SubhanAllah. It was chilling to say the least. Masha Allah. Of course immediately the tears began flowing freely down my cheeks from the power of that moment.

This whole Ramadan has been just one blessing after the other, one amazing moment after the other. AlhamdulEllah.

Last night my good friends Sarah and Salma took me shopping for Eid. It is a tradition to buy a new outfit for the first day of Eid. Eid is the celebration time after Ramadan ends. It was a lot of fun. I really like all my new friends here. They are all so well-behaved, so kind, so positive, so considerate, and their hearts are after the favor of Allah. I feel so blessed, Allah is so gracious to me and to all His servants. Let us remember to be constantly grateful to Him.

It is so inspiring many of my good friends from before and now I haven't talked with in a few days because they are doing Istakaf which means staying in the Mosque for a long time and just dedicating all the time and energy to Allah during that time. Anyone can do it and you can stay as little as one full day or as much as the last ten days. I am so happy for my friends who are doing that it will be so good for them. May Allah accept their efforts and I wish I could do it too but I learned of it too late. I hope to try it next Ramadan inshallah.

Grace and Mercy two fruits from the same tree

I remember a time when I did not yet understand the meaning of grace. We said it often in church, in our worship songs to God, in our bible study, and it was often preached by the pastor/father. Yet, it took me a while to finally reflect and ask myself, what is this grace from God everyone is talking about and is so often mention in His scriptures? I thought, why are we always saying; Our Lord is so gracious. What do we mean by that?
In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Grace is defined (I did not include all of its meanings but the ones that pertain to this post) as follows:
Main Entry: 1grace
Pronunciation: 'grAs
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin gratia favor, charm, thanks, from gratus pleasing, grateful; akin to Sanskrit grnAti he praises
1 a : unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b : a virtue coming from God c : a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace
2 a : APPROVAL, FAVOR b archaic : MERCY, PARDON c : a special favor : PRIVILEGE d : disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency e : a temporary exemption : REPRIEVE

I placed unmerited in red bold text because I wanted to emphasize something about grace that I think is what sets this trait belonging to Allah from all the rest. How many people do we know that provide us assistance when when it is unmerited, or in other words, undeserved? When we compete in a race, do we get the trophy if we lose? Or even if we place second? I don't think so. When we need help, do people just hand us favors, or is only the truly kind-hearted and loved ones who stretch out on a limb for us when we need it? Will anyone just give you something without expecting something in return? At least love, or a handshake or a dinner invitation, or maybe more, right? But what does Allah ask of us in return for all that He gives us? What do we owe him for giving us a good day? A job we love? The sun and the rain? A friend? Our health? A son or daughter? Our vision? Our talents? Our food on the table? Our life? Our freedom to choose? Nothing. All of us on earth get things from God even when we might not deserve them, simply because He loves us. That is the real love. There is nothing "Self" about Him.

That is his grace in action. And we speak often of this word in mention of Allah because it is such a special and unique trait. We as humans have the capacity to show grace towards others, and many do indeed at one point or another. But Allah is grace manifested. He is not only gracious, He is what it means to be gracecious. We could praise Allah in our every single one of our prayers for the rest of our lives and still not reach to cover all the worship He deserves just for that one trait He possesses.

Because of His grace we are forgiven, because of His grace we can do everything we do. Because of His grace we are alive right now. Not because of anything we did. Sub han Allah.

It is no wonder we praise Allah for his grace many times in every salat we do every day. It is the very first phrase we say before every single Surat of the Quran that we read or recite or before anything we do.
"Praise be to Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.."

What is interesting, is that if you think about it, mercy and grace kind of go hand in hand. You can't mention one without thinking of the other.

Here is webster-Merriam's definition of MERCY:

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French merci, from Medieval Latin merced-, merces, from Latin, price paid, wages, from merc-, merx merchandise
1 a : compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power; also : lenient or compassionate treatment mercy> b : imprisonment rather than death imposed as penalty for first-degree murder
2 a : a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion b : a fortunate circumstance mercy they found her before she froze>
3 : compassionate treatment of those in distress mercy among the poor>

So in a sense, because of Allah's mercy for us, he gives us second chances, he gives us forgiveness, he gives us life, he gives us blessings, he gives us love, through the channel of grace.

Mercy inspires Grace and Grace is a response to Mercy. And both grace and mercy can come from nowhere except from the heart, they can only be born of love.
Imagine trying to feel mercy, or be gracious to someone without feeling something pulling on the strings of your heart first. You just can't. They are products of love, and what is purer than that? There is no way to have impure mercy or grace without compassion. Love is pure and is kind, it can be the only source and origin of two such beautiful traits of our Lord and traits that he has also given us the ability to possess through the love in our hearts.

What is most interesting actually about both of these traits; Mercy and Grace, is that they come from the same Root in Arabic. Rahmaneer, Raheem (Gracious, Merciful). And that makes sense now doesn't it?
I discovered this when a very dear brother of mine in Islam, Nizar, had translated Rahman to Mercy in English. I was watching Sheikh Mishary Alafasy reciting from my mosque back home on Kuwaiti TV, and I contacted Nizar to inquire what surat Alafasy was reciting. He said surat Arrahman and translated "rahman" as Mercy. And I was like; wait a minute, doesn't that mean Gracious? Then he checked and confirmed with me that I was right. But then he went on further to explain that Grace and Mercy actually come from the same root "RAHEMA". Masha Allah.

We have much to be grateful for to Allah, even if just for his abounding grace and mercy towards each of us.

Think about the Quran, especially in this time during Ramadan in which the Quran is said to have been revealed, even the revelation of the Quran for us was an act of grace by Allah.
"Then We gave the Book (the Qur'an) for inheritance to such of Our slaves whom ... That is indeed a great grace." (Qur'an 35:32).
THE QURAN IS ONE OF THE BIGGESTS ACTS OF GRACE Allah HAS shown us, We have rebelled so much throughout history even after having been shown the way and the truth and the right path, yet still he sent to us yet a clearer and purer guide for us to get back on target...Allah truly is most gracious and most merciful and we should accept this guidance sent to us with much gratitude in our hearts:

Second chapter of the Quran - Confirmation of guidance

Quran 1-5

Alif. Lam. Mim. - THIS DIVINE WRIT, let there be no doubt about it is [meant to be] a guidance for all the God-conscious - Who believe in [the existence of] that which is beyond the reach of human perception, and are constant in prayer, and spend on others out of what We provide for them as sustenance; - And who believe in that which has been bestowed from on high upon thee, [O Prophet,] as well as in that which was bestowed before thy time: for it is they who in their innermost are certain of the life to come! - It is they who follow the guidance [which comes from their Sustainer; and it is they, they who' shall attain to a happy state!

After that what else is there to say? Masha Allah the Quran is so complete that even in just small parts of it we can receive so much...

I

In My Pursuit of Knowledge....

Bismillahir rahmaneer raheem....
“And they were not commanded except that they should worship Allah, keeping the religion pure for Him, and worship none but Him Alone, and establish the Prayer and offer the Compulsory Charity, and that is the upright religion.” (Quran - Surat Al-Bayyenah 98:5)

Salam brothers and sisters, how are you? I am enjoying Ramadan so much I hope you are too. It feels so good to draw near to Allah. So I am thinking a lot about my development and pursuit of knowledge and it is important to always remember that we must always keep in mind what our motives are for whatever it is we are pursuing. We should have good intentions in what we do. That counts for a lot in Islam in our walk with Allah. For what does it count to pursue knowledge of Allah's word and become scholars of our deen but do it just to seek others' approval or for our own ego. We were put on this earth for nothing but to worship Allah so the reason for my passion for learning about God's words and his commands for my life are driven by my desire to worship Him in the best way I can through my life. This must be the drive behind what I pursue. I need to ask myself and check myself in all things to make sure that is my motive behind what I do because if it isn't, then I am missing the mark.

What does anything mean without our motive to give the glory to god and have love in our hearts behind our actions? Are they now just empty and vain efforts then? What would charity be without caring? What would a favor be without joy in giving? What would a hug be without affection? What would knowing everything about God's word be without having our hearts in the right place when seeking that knowledge? Even the bible discusses how everything we do without love is like a clanging symbol, it makes sounds but it means nothing. We should constantly assess what we place our hearts in and whether or not our hearts are in the right place in what we do, for it will count for nothing if we are just doing it simply to please others or to get credit from those around us. We should do it for love for God and love for others.

We must take care of our intention in all we do. There is a story I wanted to retell here in my blog that I read in a book about the virtues of Ramadan which is actually about how we should take care to remember who it is who considers our deeds, and to remember we should remember Allah in all kinds of worship. Worship can be in many forms; in nasheed (hymns, psalms to Allah), prayer, salat, giving, charity, fasting, and more. Really we can worship Allah in all that we do if when we do it, we are doing it for His sake and for His glory. The word for worship in Arabic in this sense is "IBAADAH." It is Allah who considers all of our actions and deeds and whether or not He will accept them.

So here is the story.... Mohammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa Sallam) is said to have said: On the day of Qiyaamah (Judgment Day) one of those with whom Allah shall reckon first shall be a Shaheed (a martyr in the path of Allah). Allah will call him and remind him of all of His blessings given to him, which the person will confess. He shall then be asked: "What ave you done by way of expressing gratitude for these favors I have bestowed upon you?" The "Shaheed" shall reply" "I fought in Your cause till I became a martyr. Allah shall reply: It is not so; you have fought so that you can be called a brave man: and so it has been said." There after it shall be commanded that he be dragged, face on the ground and cast into "Jahannam." Then, an 'Aalim (a Scholar) shall be called to the Lord. He too shall be reminded of Allah's favors and asked the same question. He shall reply: "Oh Lord! I sought to acquire knowledge, taught others and for Your sake recited the Quran." Allah shall say" "This is not true. You did all that, merely so that, it may be said that you are learned; and so it has been said." And he will face the same fate as the Shaheed in Jahannam. Many such incidents can be found in Ahaadeeth. So we should care about our intentions.

May Allah accept our deeds and may all that we pursue be pure in intention and strictly for the glory of our Lord. amen.

Here is the verse again from the Quran which summarizes what are purpose is here, and what should be our soul mission, to worship Allah in all we do, with PURE intentions:

“And they were not commanded except that they should worship Allah, keeping the religion pure for Him, and worship none but Him Alone, and establish the Prayer and offer the Compulsory Charity, and that is the upright religion.” (Quran 98:5)

Here we see that even though a person may seem to be performing acts of devotion and worship to Allah outwardly, if they associate any other intention (to get money, to get fame, to get attention, etc...) or being in this worship, (whether they be angels, prophets, or righteous people), then this deed is not accepted or rewarded by Allah as the reward/consequence will be worldly.

Here is a commentary about this verse from http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/360/

Another aspect of this purity of intention is that a person should never seek any worldly gains through religious service and acts of worship, even if that worldly gain be something permissible. If a person seeks any permissible worldly gain though an action, the Godly reward of the deed diminishes.

Dedicated to Brother Reza who inspires me with his continuing passion for searching the best form of worship of our beloved Lord. And who has an open heart and mind to reflect upon our purpose on earth. May Allah open all of our hearts and minds in the same way.

Allahu Akbar!! The beautiful final 10 days of Ramadan

Waoooooooooooooooooo. That is the biggest wao I have ever said I think...... Maybe the closest one to that was when I saw the moon turn blood red and eclipse this summer in the mountains on my way back to Washington from California with my mom. Tonight I went again to the Grand Mosque in Kuwait to pray the Qiyam late night prayer for Laylat-ul-Qadr. This time I went with my friend Sarah again, and with my friend Salma and her lovely mother Tahani (OmmAhmed).
I made two new friends just recently from the states who are living in Kuwait for the next year. One of them was talking with me about traditions we hold dear in Christianity that differ from those in Islam and we began to discuss Qiyam. She inquired if non-Muslims might be able to attend the prayers at the mosque. I welcomed her and my other friend to join me and my friends tonight. They happily obliged and we all had an amazing and spiritual experience. I am so happy they had the chance to see and experience this blessed event. It is so powerful. My friend even told me that tonight was the best Ramadan experience she had ever had and she has been studying Islam now for four years. Subhan Allah.

SO many people were congregated this evening to worship together the Allmighty Lord of the Worlds. I had just been thinking to myself last night that I wish that people from the states could experience and feel what I felt and just the next day, two other ladies from the states did just that. Ma sha Allah our Rabb really does answer our du3aas from these nights, and quickly!
I thought that nothing could top my experience at the mosque last night but even the second time for Qiyam at the mosque was just as magical. I arrived with my two American friends and had trouble finding my friend Salma and her mom. But on the way we saw all the people beginning to pray and there were soooooo many, thousands maybe. A sea of women and men in their respective places bowing in prostration before Allah, with the beautiful huge half moon shining behind them in the black sky with Sheikh Nabeel Alawdy's blessed voice flowing through the air from the loudspeakers. It was so good to see Salma's face through the sea of black hijab. We met up with her and her mommy and I nestled next to them and began my night of devotion to Allah the mighty the great the highest the helper and protector the love of my life, the source of my joy the beginning and the end.
During the lesson, Sheikh Nabeel addressed the last four stories in Surat Al-Khaf, a surah that both of my American friends were familiar with and fond of. Later in the evening, OmAhmed, Salma's Mom Tahani leaned over to inform me that Sheikh Mishary AlAfasy, the imam very dear to me, who I had yet to hear leading the prayers here, would be reciting Surat Maryam tonight. I couldn't believe that the first time Alafasy would be leading my prayers, the Sheikh I have admired since hearing his recitations at my mosque back in the states would be reciting Surat Maryam, the first time I ever hear him in person. Of course as you know, Surat Maryam was the first thing I ever heard or read from the Quran. Masha Allah and he also recited Surat Al-Kafiroon, Surat Al-Ikhlas, both of which were two of the first I memorized from the Quran. Naturally I cried tons through the prayers. The du3as were absolutely amazing. Du3as are words of petition to Allah, our requests in prayer to Him.
After this spiritual experience, we left and picked up some suhoor and fresh juices, I had a rose water flavored one, and then headed back home for fajr. It was quite a night.
For futoor, I went with my good friend Nizar to our friend Bilal's home. Nizar is such a good muslim and has helped me so much since I met him in Islam. I feel fortunate to have a friend like him. May Allah bless him and all those I have met through him. AlhamdulEllah. Bilal i American but works in Kuwait and masha Allah knows so much about Islam. I am glad to have met him and his beautiful family.
School is going great, I love all my classes and my classmates are nice. Soccer is going well I am learning a lot every time and I am trying to give it my best. My teammates have been so good to me.
I joined the mock United Nations club and I met get lucky enough to be selected for the 6 who will be travelling to Bahrain or Harvard for the United Nations mock conference.
I'll keep you posted. Yom Sa3eed.

Laylat-ul-Qadr

Assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah wa barakatoh,
We have entered into the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan. It went by so fast. But now we are within the time of the month in which the Quran had first been revealed to Mohammad (SAAWS), through the angel Jibriil (Gabriel). Here is what the Quran says about this night (There is an entire surah dedicated to it actualy):

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power: And what will explain to thee what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by God's permission, on every errand: Peace!...This until the rise of morn!

Surah 97 The Holy Qur’an

Muslims come together as a community during these last nights to pray together in congregation not only the salat and sunnah prayers like Taraweeh, but also for the late night prayer in respect of Laylat Ul Qadr.

I went for the first time to pray the late night prayer in a mosque with others. It was an amazing experience, like nothing I ever felt before. As we were getting close to the "Grand Mosque" in Kuwait City, I could already begin to feel the electric energy from all the people. From the outside it reminded me of the same thing you see before a superbowl game or something along those lines. But with an added element, spirituality and only good tidings for Allah among the people and of course a beautiful mosque. And instead of coming to the ballpark to watch the winning team, people have gotten up from their sleep in huge numbers and arrived to the mosques just to seek the favor of Allah and to worship and adore him. There are so many people who wish to come that many do not even fit in the mosques and pray on large Persian rugs out on the plaza and sidewalks.

We prayed under the open sky, the desert moon, cut in half like a slice of watermelon (raggae) as my good friend Sarah put it, shone its like down upon us in the courtyard of the mosque as we prayed. The reciter this evening for the suwar of the Quran and the message for the night just so happened to be Sheikh Nabeel Alawdy the same teacher of Islam that had been one of the lecturers at the Bedelha event. He was soooo dynamic in his message and his worship was heart felt and powerful for the glory of Allah. It was a magical night. The hours through the last 1/3 of the night went by like minutes. In between sets of prayers we would take breaks and during those moments I would either hear a lesson from the prayer leader or read in my Quran the Surah that was the highlight of the night, Surat Al-Isra. He also talked about the importance of honoring our parents, one of our biggest duties as good muslims.

I felt so connected with everyone there as we all made our petitions to Allah and worshipped him for his greatness together. I was really happy to have been able to go for the first time there with my friend Sarah. She is such an amazing young Muslima. I feel so proud to know that there are such good young people like her in the world. She has such a big heart, like her cousin Salma. They are such sweet hearts, really I feel so blessed just to know them. Sarah's dream is to work in the hospital here that specializes in care for patients of Diabetes. She is such an inspiration. May Allah grant her the success.

She taught me some Du3aa on the way home which I will post insha Allah soon as well. Here is a great article that can better explain what the experience was like tonight for me. I found it in the Kuwait Times. I hope you enjoy it. I'm looking forward to going to the Grand Mosque again and spending the night in prayer tomorrow and the next and the next..... Although some nights I plan also to pray at home which is also very very good to do, just you and Allah.

Here's the good article about this very topic:

Published Date: October 03, 2007 (Kuwait Times)
By Ahmad Al-Khaled, Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The importance of the final ten days of Ramadan is exemplified by the late night prayer Salat Qeyam Alayl, which can be literally translated to 'pray at night.' After the evening Eshaa prayer, the optional Salat Qeyam Alayl usually begins at or around midnight, lasting for several hours depending on the mosque. Some locals already began their late night prayers on Monday night but most will have started on Tuesday, changing their daily routine in order to partake in the night prayers which offer en
ormous blessings to the faithful.

The struggle to stay awake late into the night was sidelined as unimportant by most of those who participate in the night prayers. "It is not a factor." said Abdulrahman Fahad, who added, "Praying together with hundreds of people in our small neighborhood mosque and knowing there are millions of Muslims around the world praying with us is easy." When Kuwait Times asked if he changed his schedule to accommodate the late night visit to the mosque, Abdulrahman responded saying, "I sleep after Taraweeh prayers
and wake up for Qeyam Alayl and depending on the time we finish I decide whether or not to sleep again before Suhoor...it is not meant to be easy, that is the point - it is a special time, hence it should be a bit of a challenge.

Also commenting on the late night prayers, Iman Jasem said, "I sleep when I can but Allah comes first and it is very little for me to wake up for ten days and worship - especially knowing the Laylat Al Qadr comes sometime during these days." During the last ten days is Laylat Al Qadr or 'the night of power' wherein prayers carry a heavier weight. "I pray the Qeyam Alayl as many nights as I can during the last ten days of Ramadan, Inshallah this year I will pray on each night of the ten days and witness Lay
lat Al Qadr." said Osama Ali. "I pray I receive Allah's grace on Laylat Al Qadr." said Umm Meshary who added, "Qeyam Alayl is a time to forgive and be forgiven, while others sleep I will pray for the salvation of my family.

The last ten days of Ramadan also brings many more women to the mosques than usual. "It is traditional for us to pray at home but during Ramadan we go for the Taraweeh and for the Qeyam Alayl," said Umm Bader who noted, "God is great - I pray with my daughter, daughters-in-law and granddaughters at the mosque every night for Qeyam Alayl - it is tradition and the will of Allah." Salat Qeyam Alayl brings large numbers of followers to local mosques. "I enjoy the fervor of it all...it is an intense time to pra
y...there are so many Muslims praying together you can feel the energy." said Yasser Muhamed. "The large numbers are a sight to see - it is a joy to see all those who walk together in the middle of the night toward the mosque seeking Allah's greatness." said Iman Raed who added, "I particularly like the sound of voices all engaged in prayer in the still of the night - it is very inspiring.

Many of those speaking to Kuwait Times noted that they drive to mosques outside their neighborhoods for Qeyam Alayl. "Our family goes to the Grand Mosque for the night prayers on these ten days - it is filled to capacity and I am moved by its beauty," said Umm Waleed. "My son and I go to the large mosque in Adailiya which is where my father's home used to be - we do so to remember the past." Talal Muhamed had this to say to Kuwait Times readers, "If you are not participating in Salat Qeyam Alayl yourself,
and happen to be awake in the wee hours of the night, open your window and you may hear the faint sounds of millions of voices united in prayer - God is great.

Iron Chef - Arabic

This summer I took an intensive Arabic class at my university, the University of Washington. It was 4 hours a day, five days a week, for 3 months. It was a good class. I met a lot of interesting new friends through it too. We had to make a presentation in Arabic and for our group project we decided to do a presentation about Arabic food in the style of a cooking competition. We made it to be a comedy. I hope you laugh! :)

Surat Muzzammil

Assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah wa barakatoh,
It was the 50th anniversary of the marriage of the grandparents of my Jewish friend that I visited just a couple weeks ago. I stayed in their home. They were originally from Tunis and northern Morocco. They are sooooo sweet and kind-hearted and they treated me like their own granddaughter when I was there. They took such good care of me from the first moment I arrived at 3:30 before the rising of the sun. Mariam, and Shlomo. Mariam and I have the same name! Shlomo is Hebrew for Suleman or Solomon in English. I remember Mariam was awake and made me some yummy nescafe and gave me some pastries when I arrived. She didn't know much English so we spoke in part spanish, part Arabic and part Hebrew. It was fun. And she had set up a nice room for me and everything. I loved staying with them. I miss them. I hope that Allah will grant me the favor to have a long and strong and happy relationship with my future husband as she has with her dear husband Shlomo.

At any rate, Ramadan is going great but it is going by too fast!! :( Masha Allah. It was a great learning experience for me. I feel I grew a lot in this short time and I enjoy this great opportunity to draw nearer and nearer to Allah. I had a nice opportunity to talk about Islam with my roommate tonight. Her name is Kara and she is here studying at AUK also. Her major is Philosophy and minor is Islamic Studies. She is very nice and has a big heart and very articulate. Tonight she asked me what this prayer vigil event during the last ten days of Ramadan was all about.

I had not yet studied much about it myself so I took the opportunity to go back and read in the Quran where it is mentioned about this time of Ramadan and about the Qayim salat.

I found a nice commentary about it and Tahajud on http://islami-online.net :
Using the verb fatahajjad, a derivative from the root hajada (meaning to keep vigil), Allah says: "And some part of the night awake for it (fatahajjad), a largess for thee. It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praised estate." (Al-Isra': 79) This last verse means to get up and perform Tahajjud Prayer. Tahajjud refers to getting up after sleeping and performing optional night prayer. Since this optional night prayer is most probably performed after sleeping for some time, it is named Tahajjud, though the original name of night prayer is Qiyam, which literally means standing. It is also said that Tahajjud is prayer after sleeping, while Qiyam refers to spending the night in worship in general, whether it is Prayer (salah) or any other form of worship.

Tahajjud and Qiyam are the same thing, namely optional night prayer. However, the only difference appears when these two names are used during Ramadan. The prayer after `Isha' Prayer is referred to as Qiyam (or, more commonly, Tarawih), while spending the night in worship (after some sleep) is called Tahajjud. Both names have been used in the Qur'an. Referring to Qiyam, the Qur’an uses the phrase qum al-layl when Almighty Allah says: "O thou wrapped up in thy raiment! Keep vigil the night long (qum al-layl), save a little, a half thereof, or abate a little thereof, or add (a little) thereto and chant the Qur’an in measure…" (Al-Muzzammil: 1-4)

This prompted me to share wth you ALL of this surat because it give s clear picture of what the Qum al-layl is all about. May this word from Allah fill you with His peace and provide you with clear guidance in your spiritual walk with Him:

A3udu billahi minna shaytaneerrajeem - I seek refuge from the acursed satan
Bismillahirrahmaneeraheem - In the name of Allah, the most gracious the most merciful.....

Surat 73 MUZZAMMIL
- Asad - English / Muhammad Asad

73:1 O thou enwrapped one!

Topics discussed in this Verse:
[Muhammad:enfolded _ wrapped up in garments]

Ya ayyuha almuzzammilu
يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ (73:1)


73:2 Keep awake [in prayer] at night, all but a small part
Qumi allayla illa qaleelan
قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا (73:2)


73:3 of one-half thereof [2] - or make it a little less than that,

Nisfahu awi onqus minhu qaleelan
نِصْفَهُ أَوِ انقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا (73:3)

73:4 or add to it [at will]; and [during that time] recite the Qur’an calmly and distinctly, with thy mind attuned to its meaning. [3]

Aw zid AAalayhi warattili alqurana tarteelan
أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا (73:4)


73:5 Behold, We shall bestow upon thee a weighty message –

Inna sanulqee AAalayka qawlan thaqeelan
إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا (73:5)


73:6 [and,] verily, the hours of night the mind most strongly and speak with the clearest voice, [4]

Inna nashiata allayli hiya ashaddu watan waaqwamu qeelan
إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ اللَّيْلِ هِيَ أَشَدُّ وَطْءًا وَأَقْوَمُ قِيلًا (73:6)


73:7 whereas by day a long chain of doings is thy portion.

Inna laka fee alnnahari sabhan taweelan
إِنَّ لَكَ فِي اَلنَّهَارِ سَبْحًا طَوِيلًا (73:7)


73:8 But [whether by night or by day,] remember thy Sustainer's name, and devote thyself unto Him with utter devotion.

Waothkuri isma rabbika watabattal ilayhi tabteelan
وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا (73:8)


73:9 The Sustainer of the east and the west [is He]: there is no deity save Him: hence, ascribe to Him alone the power to determine thy fate, [5]

Rabbu almashriqi waalmaghribi la ilaha illa huwa faittakhithhu wakeelan
رَبُّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَاتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا (73:9)


73:10 and endure with patience whatever people may say [against thee], and avoid them with a comely avoidance.

Waisbir AAala ma yaqooloona waohjurhum hajran jameelan
وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْرًا جَمِيلًا (73:10)


73:11 And leave Me alone [to deal] with those who give the lie to the truth [6] - those who enjoy the blessings of life [without any thought of God] - and bear thou with them for a little while:

Watharnee waalmukaththibeena olee alnnaAAmati wamahhilhum qaleelan
وَذَرْنِي وَالْمُكَذِّبِينَ أُولِي النَّعْمَةِ وَمَهِّلْهُمْ قَلِيلًا (73:11)


73:12 for, behold, heavy fetters [await them] with Us, and a blazing fire,

Inna ladayna ankalan wajaheeman
إِنَّ لَدَيْنَا أَنكَالًا وَجَحِيمًا (73:12)


73:13 and food that chokes, and grievous suffering [7]

WataAAaman tha ghussatin waAAathaban aleeman
وَطَعَامًا ذَا غُصَّةٍ وَعَذَابًا أَلِيمًا (73:13)


73:14 on the Day when the earth and the mountains will be convulsed and the mountains will [crumble and] become like a sand-dune on the move! [8]


Yawma tarjufu alardu waaljibalu wakanati aljibalu katheeban maheelan
يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الْأَرْضُ وَالْجِبَالُ وَكَانَتِ الْجِبَالُ كَثِيبًا مَّهِيلًا (73:14)


73:15 BEHOLD, [O men,] We have sent unto you an apostle who shall bear witness to the truth before you, even as We sent an apostle unto Pharaoh: [9]

Inna arsalna ilaykum rasoolan shahidan AAalaykum kama arsalna ila firAAawna rasoolan
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًا شَاهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا (73:15)


73:16 and Pharaoh rebelled against the apostle, whereupon We took him to task with a crushing grip.

FaAAasa firAAawnu alrrasoola faakhathnahu akhthan wabeelan
فَعَصَى فِرْعَوْنُ الرَّسُولَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُ أَخْذًا وَبِيلًا (73:16)


73:17 How, then, if you refuse to acknowledge the truth, will you protect yourselves on that Day which shall turn the hair of children grey, [10]

Fakayfa tattaqoona in kafartum yawman yajAAalu alwildana sheeban
فَكَيْفَ تَتَّقُونَ إِن كَفَرْتُمْ يَوْمًا يَجْعَلُ الْوِلْدَانَ شِيبًا (73:17)


73:18 [the Day] on which the skies shall be rent asunder, [and] His promise [of resurrection] fulfilled?

Alssamao munfatirun bihi kana waAAduhu mafAAoolan
السَّمَاء مُنفَطِرٌ بِهِ كَانَ وَعْدُهُ مَفْعُولًا (73:18)


73:19 This, verily, is a reminder: let him who wills, then set out on a way to his Sustainer!

Inna hathihi tathkiratun faman shaa ittakhatha ila rabbihi sabeelan
إِنَّ هَذِهِ تَذْكِرَةٌ فَمَن شَاء اتَّخَذَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا (73:19)

73:20 BEHOLD, [O Prophet,] thy Sustainer knows that thou keepest awake [in prayer] nearly two-thirds of the night, or one-half of it, or a third of it, together with some of those who follow thee. [11] And God who determines the measure of night and day, is aware that you would never grudge it: [12] and therefore He turns towards you in His grace. Recite, then, as much of the Qur’an as you may do with ease. He knows that in time there will be among you sick people, and others who will go about the land in search of God's bounty, and others who will fight in God’s cause. [13] Recite, then, [only] as much of it as you may do with ease, and be constant in prayer, and spend in charity, [14] and [thus] lend unto God a goodly loan: for whatever good deed you may offer up in your own behalf, you shall truly find it with God - yea, better, and richer in reward. And [always] seek God's forgiveness: behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!

Inna rabbaka yaAAlamu annaka taqoomu adna min thuluthayi allayli wanisfahu wathuluthahu wataifatun mina allatheena maAAaka waAllahu yuqaddiru allayla waalnnahara AAalima an lan tuhsoohu fataba AAalaykum faiqraoo ma tayassara mina alqurani AAalima an sayakoonu minkum marda waakharoona yadriboona fee alardi yabtaghoona min fadli Allahi waakharoona yuqatiloona fee sabeeli Allahi faiqraoo ma tayassara minhu waaqeemoo alssalata waatoo alzzakata waaqridoo Allaha qardan hasanan wama tuqaddimoo lianfusikum min khayrin tajidoohu AAinda Allahi huwa khayran waaAAthama ajran waistaghfiroo Allaha inna Allaha ghafoorun raheemun
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ أَدْنَى مِن ثُلُثَيِ اللَّيْلِ وَنِصْفَهُ وَثُلُثَهُ وَطَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ الَّذِينَ مَعَكَ وَاللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ عَلِمَ أَن لَّن تُحْصُوهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْرَؤُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ عَلِمَ أَن سَيَكُونُ مِنكُم مَّرْضَى وَآخَرُونَ يَضْرِبُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ يَبْتَغُونَ مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَآخَرُونَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَاقْرَؤُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَقْرِضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِأَنفُسِكُم مِّنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِندَ اللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا وَأَعْظَمَ أَجْرًا وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ (73:20)

Making Friends

Tonight I met a friend of a friend of mine back in the states who works here with his girlfriend in Kuwait. He is Moroccan and she is American. They are both sooo nice. We had a lot of fun this evening together and enjoyed some delicious fruit milkshakes. We talked mostly about Islam. They are both very intelligent and open minded and kind. I am happy to have met them both.

Last night at my friend Salma's house a surat just popped into my head, one I thought I had completely forgotten how to recite. It was surat Al-Nasr, this means "The Help." The surahs were given titles later down the line, just fyi. Anyway, it is a beautiful surah. I wonder why it popped back into my head at that time. I figure it happened for a reason so I thought I would just paste it into my post today for you to benefit from it insha Allah.

An-Nasr
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

When Allah's succour and the triumph cometh (1) And thou seest mankind entering the religion of Allah in troops, (2) Then hymn the praises of thy Lord, and seek forgiveness of Him. Lo! He is ever ready to show mercy. (3)

سُوۡرَةُ النّصر
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

إِذَا جَآءَ نَصۡرُ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡفَتۡحُ (١) وَرَأَيۡتَ ٱلنَّاسَ يَدۡخُلُونَ فِى دِينِ ٱللَّهِ أَفۡوَاجً۬ا (٢) فَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡهُ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ ڪَانَ تَوَّابَۢا (٣)

Gurgey3an (Traditional Kuwaiti Holiday)

Assalamu alaikum,
I am very happy for many reasons, and I am always happy, but today I am extra happy because I spent time with a wonderful family and I finally had the chance to do a little community service here in Kuwait and because I tried out for my university soccer team here. I am a baseball, softball, and tennis player, but I have not played soccer since I was like 8 years old so I was a little nervous about even trying out. I knew the girls in Kuwait would be good because most of their brothers play and are very very good at it. I wasn't mistaken. The tryouts for the American University of Kuwait soccer team were last night and when I arrived I saw many of the girls playing and they definitely knew what they were doing. I was very excited to join them. I have been wanting to do something active since I arrived in the middle east since I am normally a very active and healthy person.

I was not too afraid to try because I feel very comfortable with sports and athletics in general and I know how good it can be to play a team sport for your own development as a person. I knew I would also get to meet a lot of nice new people through it. So I first played goalie position for a few minutes and enjoyed it very much. I like it because it reminds me of fielding grounders and making catches like I did in baseball. I just had to make sure to keep my eye on the ball and I had a lot of experience with that through my other sports. But I felt like I wanted to try to play forward or mid-fielder because I really wanted to try kicking a goal. and do some running.

So for most of the game I was given the chance to play forward on the right side. I had such a good time. It was a great challenge. I was very aggressive and I pushed myself to do well. It was a big learning experience for me because I don't know much about the rules or technique of soccer. But I managed to do well just out of my determination to do well. I actually ended up kicking the most goals out of the entire team so that was a surprise I kicked 2 of the 3 goals of the game. AlhamdulEllah. After the game, the coach named of the 16 girls who would make the team out of the 30 something that came to try out. I was selected for the team!!!!! So I am now a member of the AUK official team!! I can't believe it. I'm really excited for this experience. All of the girls on the team were very welcoming and nice. I look forward to getting to know them better.

Today I went to my friend Salma's home. Today is the full moon and it is half way time through the holy month of Ramadaan. During this time there is a traditional Kuwaiti holiday called Gurge3an. It is a time of gift-giving and zakat and making fun for the children. Salma and her mother had a great project in memory of their beloved mother and grandmother, Allah yarhamuha, a very admirable lady, just as Salma and her mom and family are too. It is clear this wonderful lady was an excellent woman to develop such a beautiful family.
They had a project of giving clothes and every other necessity you can imagine from detergent to dates, from shoes to hair brushes, from pretty outfits to baby clothes. You name it, they had it to give to the needy. I was so impressed with what they have put together. Masha Allah. May Allah greatly bless all those who have contributed to this amazing annual project. I felt so privileged to be a part of it. I wish I could do more. May Allah help me to know what else I can do. I was so happy to be there them and their friends working together.

Salma's mom even made for us personalized cupcakes. It was so cute. There home is so beautiful, it is done in Japanese style with a very artistic and creative twist to it. Salma's mom is a great artist mashaAllah. Her photography of Japan was breathtaking. She really captures the soul of that which she photographs. It left me speechless. Her children are more amazing still. All of her kids are spectacular and admirable. I wished they were really my family as I am an only child and felt a very close bond with them instantly. What is very ironic is they actually lived in Japan for two years and Salma even went to school there and speaks some Japanese just like me!!! :) What a small world. That is sooo cool.

It is so clear that this family really loves ALLAH. It is obvious through their fruits and through their warmth and through their words. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks as Jesus said in the injil (Pbuh), and you shall know them by their fruits. I felt so at home there, the time just flew by. Salma's mom gave me some very inspiring words about Islam. She told me about how our duty to our parents is even stronger than duty for jihad in battle according to Mohammad (SAAWS). I hope to find the hadeeth that talks about that so I can further elaborate on it in a later post insha Allah.

I am home now and ready to get some rest. See you tomorrow insha Allah.

Change

Salam! Today I went to my friend Lamia's home for Iftar. It was sooo good. We had really good mechbous diyay and sambosas. I really loved her mom and dad. They are soooo nice. I hope to visit them again soon insha Allah. After that I went to the lecture at my school. The two lecturers speaking are very well known teachers of Islam in Kuwait. They wanted me to share with the college students about how I came to Islam. People really liked to hear my story. Even the teachers were happy for me. I am glad I told the story because it is for the glory of Allah. All that is good is from him. It was a very inspiring night and I met a lot of very nice Muslims. So many people came to ask me questions after the lecture and many people were so happy. AlhamdulEllah. Here is part one of my talk. It is a bit rough because it was my first time to talk to so many people about my experience in Islam. But alhamdulEllah :) it was a beautiful.

From Surat 23 of the Quran

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

[23.1] Successful indeed are the believers,
[23.2] Who are humble in their prayers,
[23.3] And who keep aloof from what is vain,
[23.4] And who are givers of poor-rate,
[23.5] And who guard their private parts,
[23.6] Except before their mates or those whom their right hands possess, for they surely are not blameable,
[23.7] But whoever seeks to go beyond that, these are they that exceed the limits;
[23.8] And those who are keepers of their trusts and their covenant,
[23.9] And those who keep a guard on their prayers;
[23.10] These are they who are the heirs,
[23.11] Who shall inherit the Paradise; they shall abide therein.
[23.12] And certainly We created man of an extract of clay

ELOHIM ETANO ** ALLAH MA'ANA الله معان

Assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah wa barakatoh
I had a very pivital moment in my walk with God yesterday. I seem to have these type of experiences every day as I learn more and more and come closer and closer towards attaining Taqwa, my life ambition. I was reflecting while listening to the athan yesterday before Isha salat, of the images of brotherhood and love and compassion and consideration and a fear of God and of observance of God that I have observed since arriving in the Arab world. Many people had warned me not to be shocked by many secular muslims here. But from the moment I arrived in an Arabic place, I saw so much love and so much good Islam and I felt the presence of God everywhere I went until now. AlhamdulEllah.
The people I have met, have treated me so kindly and so welcoming. I pray with my friends in their homes, side by side, or with their little children. We say a blessing before we eat or make petitions to God and thank him as we break out fasts. Every other word out of peoples' mouths is Allah, and you can hear praises to Him and read ayas from the Quran everywhere from inside taxis to the loudspeakers from the mosques. In the states we have a starbucks on every corner, but here you can find a mosque instead. The people here tell me I am an inspiration to them as a person from a more secular upbringing and environment to actively choose to submit to Islam whereas they are born muslim and see it everyday and take it for granted, yet to me THEY are MY inspiration because of their big hearts, as the most important thing for all believers to do is to love God and others and I see this in the way they are with each other and with me. They also possess so much knowledge, they know God's word by heart, they pray and commune with God throughout the day. They put him first in all of their activities. You can go a long time without hearing God's name mentioned or see someone saying a blessing or the like in the states where I live, but here you cannot escape it. It is in everything. I am not saying it is the ideal here, but I am definitely impacted by this exposure I have had to Islam in the middle east. It is exciting for Arabs to see that Islam is growing throughout the world, and that you can find even better and more observant Muslims in countries that are not even Arab. Just because the Quran was revealed amongst an Arab community, does not mean that the Arabs are the best Muslims. You see, it is not about ethnicity or race or creed or culture. It is about our submission to God's will, and anyone of any background can do this.
But nonetheless, I still feel that there is a lot here to be appreciated as it pertains to God. I went to futoor yesterday to my friend Alia's house, she is a relative of my Kuwaiti friend May from my university. I met her when I had futoor at May's grandmother's house (Allah yarhamuha). It is my step grandparents' birthday. One was born on the 23rd and the other ont he 24th of the same month! Nice! Anyway, after futoor my friend Salma picked me up with her friend Sarah. We went for Taraweeh prayer at the Rashad mosque in Adailyia. It is the most beautiful mosque I have been to yet here in Kuwait. I really liked it. Especially the imam's voice for reciting the quran and leading the salat. Masha Allah. After we prayed and made du3a (petitions to God), we sat together and chatted.
When I told them my story, I began to cry out of joy and my spirit wept with me because I felt so overwhelmed by the power of God in my life. He is so awesome. He has showed so many wondrous things just in the first couple of weeks I have been here that have touched me so deeply. Whenever I think of these things I just want to throw myself to the ground in worship of Him.
This experience has affected my entire life for the better. I feel like I have been traveling already for a lifetime and it has only been less than a month because of all that I have learned and seen and felt. I was telling them about my experience and I couldn't help but get choked up and had to push the tears back out of the happiness and awe of Allah. Allah really is most gracious, because I am unworthy really of all that he has blessed me with and the many special people he has put on my path in life and the many things I have been privileged to experience. Really his grace is so abounding. It is through his grace and his mercy that I have had these many blessings in my life. It is not through me but from him, and I never get tired of saying Alhamdulellaheerabbil Alameen, arrahmaneer raheem. He really is that. We say that many times everyday and I could say it all day and all night and still not tire of it because it is sooooo trueee and may he be praised for ever and ever.
After talking with my friends, we went back to Alia's house and they went home. I was watching TV while Alia was putting her 3 beautiful children to sleep and I found a channel that was showing the salat at the Mosque Al-Haram in Meccah during hajj. I had seen video of it before but i had never heard the salat being said before. It was absolutely amazing. I had never seen or heard anything so beautiful. There were actually two reciters who would echo each other and each had a distinctly beautiful voice. The experience was amazing to see everyone prostrating before God together and hearing the quran recited amongst all of the masses of people all in white. The reciter was reciting Surat Yusuf, the chapter about the prophet Joseph (pbuh) well known and loved by all 3 monthotheistic religions. His story was one of the biggest influences in my life. It taught about how to handle change and how to be a leader and how to hold my tongue and how to have integrity and much more. What's more, when he was reciting it, they were showing the translation in English in subtitles, so I could understand the whole story from the Quran!! The Quran version of the story is absolutely beautiful masha Allah. I again began to feel my tears coming into my eyes. SubhanAllah.

After that, Alia took me home and gave me a banana and water (mouz and mai in Arabic). Then I did some homework and slept until suhoor time and fajr salat. Then I went to school later in the morning. After class one of the members of student government who is a practicing and good muslim asked me to meet with him and a director of the student affairs at the school. We talked about Islam for a while and then he told me about the event happening tomorrow at my university. Two men whom I have seen on TV who teach about principles and guidance about Islam are coming to do a lecture at the school. I am very excited because they are both very good teachers of Islam and good leaders. Nizar surprised me because he told me that he talked to one of them, Sheikh Mohammad Al3uthey and he wants to meet me. Not only this, but he also wants me to speak at the event to the students about how I came to Islam. I feel so shy to do it but I accept without hesitating because anything that is good is from Allah and it is good to talk with others about the truth. Insha Allah it will inspire someone to come closer to Allah. May the glory be to Allah. I may also be interviewed on TV by him as well. At any rate I am very excited for the lecture. I am sure I will learn a lot insha Allah. I have been looking forward to it since I heard they were coming.
I will let you know how it goes insha Allah. Tonight I had futoor again with Alia, she is sooo sweet. We had a nice time and then I went to pray Taraweeh at the mosque just across the street from her. She is also a block away from the Aware center so that is good news. AlhamdulEllah. The Aware center is a place to go to learn about Islam. That is where I hope to do my studies insha Allah. Then I went with my friend Deena to a lecture at the Regency Hotel about how we can make a change for the better and how God can turn our life around if we just make the choice to change our way, and how it is never too late to change. Also, he explained how change is just one step, but we also learn to be strong by handling the consequences well of the changes we make. For example, when we decide we will fast during Ramadan, we stop eating in the day and that is good, but then we feel the consequences of that choice, we feel hungry, or maybe weak or thirsty or tempted, but we must be strong to face those consequences and handle them right. Then when we do that, we are refining ourselves from the inside out and truly changing our ways. It was a very nice lecture and what was funny is that the speaker happened to be my History professor!!!! It was his first public lecture. I feel honored that I had the chance to be there to see it. AlhamdulEllah.
After that, I went with Deena and my other friend Heba and my roommate Kara to the coffee shop and talked for a little while.
Ramadan is like Christmas or Thanksgiving times 10000!! In the states, we make a big deal about having a special dinner once or twice and get with our family once a year. But for Ramadan, every single day for the entire month and beyond, we are sharing and spending time with our community, sharing our food, our love our charity, our homes. We pray together, at the mosque and at home. We have an abundance of blessings and treats and events. It really is an amazing time. Imagine having Christmas night every night. That is how it is here every day. And the best thing is, there is no commercializing, it is just about glorifying God and putting him first and growing and loving. So muched to be learned from this.
Now I have to get back to my homework. Until next time! Allah Ma3kum.

God is with us, always, forever. He is here now and he will always be there.

Alhayat fee Alkuwait

Assalamu alaikoum.
Yesterday I went to futoor at my friends' house. They are three sisters from Oman and Kuwait. They are so sweet. We had fun together. They dressed me up in traditional Kuwaiti style and we had a nice iftar. After that we went to Sofia's brothers' engagement meeting. This is where her two brothers would be seeing their future wives along with the rest of the family and start making plans for the wedding and such.

For the first part of the evening I sat with all the women in one room and the men were in another. After a few hours and many cups of coffee and tea (by this time i had had like a gallon because I had also drank some after futoor), my friend Dodi called me from Saudi Arabia. He told me he had good news. He had met a Sheik who is from Kuwait who helps people do umrah. Dodi knew I really really want to do umrah this Ramadaan so he told the sheikh about me. He told him he would be happy to help me go there. But the problem is that i did not take care of getting a visa before i am here and now everybody wants to go to Saudia. So it looks like I might not get to go until later. But I hope it will be very very soon insha Allah. When Allah wills it.

Then we went over the men's room. The two young men were sitting in a couch together and the two girls to be married to them sat down across from them. All of them were so shy. They didn't say one word to each other except small greetings and the girls were giggling to each other a lot. It was fascinating to observe this. I was wondering what was going to happen but then after about an hour or so, the girls got up and then everyone said good night and that was it. All the family was there. It was a nice family and cute couples. Two brothers were going to marry two sisters. Then one family took me home. I did not get home until very late so today I did not get as much accomplished as I had hoped but alhamdulEllah.

I went to futoor dinner with May today. She is such a sweetie pie. It was at her late grandmother's house, Allah yarhamuha. We ate some very good traditional Kuwaiti food. Excellent. I had a soup called Haseera or something like that with some lemon and salt. It was delicious. Then we had tea in the sitting room and the family asked me how I came to Islam. People here are very interested in knowing what brought me to Islam and I am more than happy to share my story.

I really liked meeting May's family. They are soooo great. They are all very educated and polited and friendly. We prayed maghrib salat together too. They talked about how there is a lot of problem in Islam when people want to create innovations in the religion that did not exist in the time of the Prophet and we need to use our intelligence and the Quran to discern between the good and bad. I share in this sentiment with them. We need to remember that Allah desires us to succeed and that his book is complete. We also have the hadeeth to provide us with even more guidance. AlhamdulEllah.
Tomorrow I will be goig to May's aunt Alia's house for futoor insha Allah.

O Allah, on this day, make us, among those who rely on You, from those who You consider successful, and place us among those who are near to you, by Your favour, O goal of the seekers.May Allah include us among those who’s fasting and prayers will be accepted, among those whose evil deeds will have been transformed into good deeds, among those whom Allah will allow by His mercy to enter the Garden

Traditional Kuwait

Assalamu alaikoum
I have met some very nice people in Kuwait masha Allah. This morning I went to class and I found the Arabic class to be a big challenge because most of the students in the class are native speakers of Arabic. But I have faith Allah will help me. I am enjoying all of my classes alhamdulEllah. Yesterday after class I met with a young man named Nizar with student government who is studying to be a scholar of Islam like his uncles and his friend Heba from Eqypt. She is studying management and psychology. Both of them were so nice and helpful. Heba gave me a gift and a nice letter because she was very happy I came to Islam.

In my international business class each student was assigned a country of the world. I was happy because I got all of the Bilad al-Shems countries. I was hoping the teacher would assign to me an Arab country or Iran because it would give me an opportunity to learn more about the region of the world I am most interested. The gulf countries would have been great, but I am happy I got this part of the world. After my classes I went with my roommate to Kuwait University. I love it there! It's so great. I hope to study there too someday. I went there because I want to study Persian and Arabic at that school. I will sign up for it tomorrow insha Allah. After futoor, my friend May sent to me one of her dura3aa, which is the traditional Kuwaiti dress. That was soooooo nice of her. I really am happy to have her as a friend because she loves Allah and has such a big heart.

After Isha salat we went to the mbaraqiya, the traditional Kuwaiti market. It was so interesting and there were so many people shopping. We got some dura3a and we also got some head scarves and my roommate, Kara, got her first muslim hijab and jilbab. Masha Allah. She is also fasting with me for Ramadaan. AlhamdulEllah. Then we had some fresh juice. I had pomegranate (Roman) and she had Cactus Pear. We bought some mamouls with walnut filling, yummy, and then we bought some head scarves, and then my shoe broke so I had to buy a new one at the first store I saw and the shoe was over-priced and painful and a funny color but the experience was sooo funny. We were laughing so much. AlhamdulEllah.

Then we went to the university for the Kuwaiti Traditional theme event but we came too late for it. Insha Allah there will be another opportunity like that. I am learning now to recite Surat Maryam during Ramadaan. It is my goal this month.

Ramadaan Kareem

I am so happy to be in Kuwait during Ramadaan. It has been a very blessed month until now, masha Allah. I just came back home from Futoor (the breaking of the fast) with my friends. They are such a nice family masha Allah. They introduced me to some students at my university also. I am excited to get to know them better as they are also very nice. I have made some nice friends here already.

I am excited to go to Saudi Arabia sometime soon this month in sha Allah for Umrah. If you do this pilgrimage during Ramadan it is as if I had done the Hajj before Allah. So I hope I can do it if Allah wills it. I am excited because Sheikh Al Afasy will be coming back to Kuwait by the 15th day of Ramadaan so I will go to hear his recitation for Tajahud insha Allah. I hope to go buy some dura3a soon. Those are nice traditional dresses here.

I signed up for the the Mock United Nations Club and the Tennis Team at my school today so I am looking forward to that. I wanted to join the community service club but there was no club like that. I thought there would be. Well I hope I can do some sort of community service while I am here. I would feel empty if I didn't. I am looking forward to starting Persian language classes and Islamic Studies too. I will be going to Kuwait University soon to see about the language classes. Possibly tomorrow or the day after tomorrow I hope.

My classes at AUK are excellent. It is a bit segregated. My International Business class is all girls, all 40 students. So that is a bit different than the states. I don't know if it is supposed to be like that or just a coincidence. My other classes are somewhat mixed. But it doesn't matter to me. It is just different. I am taking Arabic, International Business Management, and 20th Century Arab History. I am settled in almost 100% I just need to figure out how to take the buses here and find a gym and I will be complete insha Allah.

I hope to post a daily thought about Ramadaan each time I post something this month, so here is some sent to me from a friend. May it enrich you as much as it enriched me:

Here are some petitions to Allah (or in Arabic - Du3aa) you can say during Ramadaaan, the month of the Holy Quran, the month of fasting:
1) O Allah, on this day, take me closer towards Your pleasure, keep me away from Your anger and punishment, grant me the opportunity to recite Your verses (of the Qur'an), by Your mercy, O the most Merciful.

2) O Allah, on this day make my fasts the fasts of those who fast (sincerely), and my standing up in prayer of those who stand up in prayer (obediently), awaken me in it from the sleep of the heedless, and forgive me my sins , O God of the worlds, and forgive me, O one who forgives the sinners.

And here is a Hadeeth from the Prophet Mohammad (Pbuh):

The Prophet (pbuh) said, “If someone draws near to Allah during Ramadan with some good act he will be like one who fulfils an obligatory duty in another month, and he who fulfils an obligatory duty in it will be like one who fulfils seventy obligatory duties in another month”. (Tirmidhi Hadith 1965)

Iftar

Assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah. Today I went to Suq Sharq, I thought it would be a market but it turned out to be another mall. On the way I saw the Persian Gulf in the day light for the first time. It is soooo beautiful. The water is a beautiful turquiose color. We bought some baklawa in the pastry shop at the supermarket that was connected to the mall to give to my friend for inviting me to her home for Iftar dinner and then we went to the mbarakiya. That is more like a real marketplace. It was amazing. So many interesting people and things. We saw many perfume oils and foods and spices and clothes. It was a lot of fun. Insha Allah we will go there often. It is my favorite place in Kuwait so far.
Later that afternoon, my friend Sofia picked us up. She was the lady that the professor at Kuwait University referred me to. She is soooo nice. Her children are incredibly cute. She has three. She took us to her home where I prayed maghrib with the children. We had a wonderful iftar dinner, my first time eating Mechbous Diyay in Kuwait (btw, u can find my recipe for this on my recipe blog; mimisrecipes.blogspot.com). We had a big feast on the floor traditional Kuwaiti style. Then we had shai and gehuwa and pastries after. Then the girls took me to pray taraweeh for the first time in the mosque. It was great. Then she took me to her sister-in-law's home. It is absolutely beautiful. When I walked in to the welcome room, there were about 5 beautiful ladies in their dura3as and intricate eye makeup and nice scarves having gehuwa. We all sat and chatted for a while. I really liked them all. They were so feminine and so nice. We stayed there for a while and they fed me even more treats. Then they brought out bukhour and a tray full of beautiful perfumes and oils. We tried them all. I think we will smell good for the rest of our stay after that!!! It was a nice ramadhan day, alhamdulEllah. Today was my first real experience with traditional Kuwait culture within the household. I better sleep now, it is late and i had a long day and I'm sick and I have my first day of school tomorrow. I wanted to write now so I wouldn't forget the details. I will be sure to let you know how school goes insha Allah. Salaaaaam!

AlKuwait

Salam! I'm finally in Kuwait. I have been here for a couple days now. Everything is good. Kul shey tamam, alhamdulEllah. I had missed my flight in Jordan, but the flight I got on was great because I was sitting next to Doctor Suleman Shoyty a professor of Islamic Studies at Kuwait University. We had a great conversation after he had noticed I was studying Arabic on the flight. He helped me with it, it was a lot of fun. He gave me the number of a lady named Sofia who also works for Kuwait University and knows a lot about Islam. He and I got along very well and he told me he has daughters also studying Islamic Studies at KU. I hope to meet them sometime too.

After the nice plane ride, I felt my first experience with the heat of Kuwait. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. I actually felt an emotional response to it, just happiness and astonishment I was actually here. Then I had to go get my visa which took like 3 and half hours because of a problem with their systems. My plane to Kuwait was also delayed like 3 hours too. But I was too happy to feel annoyed with anything. It was so cool to see all the people walking around in their dishdasha. The dishsasha is the white robes and head covers the men wear in the gulf. It is sooo cool. I saw two men walk past me in white dishdasha and each holding a REAL falcon!!! It was soooooooo awesome!! I LOVE falcons. When the man handed me my visa, I was sooooo happy to have it, that I just took the visa and passport and left behind my wallet and everything else in my hands! I went downstairs to go through immigration and to get my baggage when I realized I had left everything behind. The security had no problem letting me back through, everyone was so nice.

Then I finally left the airport and headed for my apartment. My roommate was already there when I arrived. Her name is Kara. She is also American but studied for a year in Lebanon. She is very laid back and nice. We get along well alahmdulEllah. The apartment is spacious and nice and has everything we need. The only bad part about it is the location. It is a bit far from school to walk so we will have to find a driver if we stay here. A friend already offered me to stay with her but I can't leave my roommate but that is fine. It is nice to have this place and we can also help each other out.

The first few days I was exhausted from my travels before and had a bad cold. But I am doing better now. AlhamdulEllah. I slept a lot the first few days too. But the first day we arrived we went straight to the supermarket and realized that Kuwait food is not as cheap as people had been telling us. Yikes!!!!!! It was pretty expensive. We put a definite dent in our pockets from the very first trip. But we are still just learning about things so it's okay.

Another lesson was the taxi drivers. They take a bit getting used to. I got proposed to on a five minute long taxi ride at one point. My friend got stalked by a guy and I guess it is typical for men to follow women home here. Strange. But in general nothing dangerous. We just have to take care and be smart and try to understand we are in another culture. It is fun and people are very nice for the most part. I am very happy here so far.

My friend and I went to Marina Mall the other day. This was the most popular place for Kuwaitis for a while until Avenues mall opened. It is very nice. The marina is absolutely beautiful. There are many good stores like Zara and such. I had a cinabon while I was there too, yummy! It is cool to hear the Azan, the call to salat everywhere I go, even within the mall. It was prayer time when I was there and there is even a mosque inside the mall in addition to prayer rooms. I remember the first time I heard the call to salat in the middle east was in the old city in Jerusalem. That was an incredible feeling. Masha Allah.

The next day my friend who also attends University of Washington, May, picked us up and took us to the Chocolate Bar. It was sooooooo good. We had dinner there and then shared chocolate fondue!!! MmmmmmM!!! She taught us a lot about Kuwaiti culture. She is a sweetheart. She is going back to the states on the 24th but I hope we can hang out again maybe to attend Taraweeh in the grand mosque insha Allah before she goes. She is going to tell us where we can find good dura3as. This is the traditional dress for Ramadan. My other friend Fatima invited me to the mosque with her but her grandmother fell ill today so she had to cancel. May Allah bring her health and peace.

Today was the first day of Ramadan. This morning I went to my university here and paid my tuition. I really love my school. It looks like it will be a lot of fun insha Allah. Then I went to another supermarket I like much more than the one I went to the first day. It is called Sultan Market. It's a lot like an American supermarket plus a Target in one. Then I went back home and rested since I still have a cold. I fasted anyway though because I was so happy to be fasting for the first time in a middle east country where EVERYONE pretty much fasts during Ramadan. Very different in that aspect from the states. I made mansaf for iftar dinner. It turned out pretty good alhamdulEllah.

I love hearing the athan every day and there is a good mosque next to my apartment so that is also great. AlhamdulEllah. On our satellite tv there is a channel just for Alafasy. That is awesome. He even teaches tajweed on it to the kids. I watch and try to follow along. Well, I just wanted to get caught up on my blogs. I will be writing more about Ramadan next time insha Allah. m3 alsalama

Free Palestine

For my second half of the trip, I stayed in Palestine in a city called Taibe next to the West Bank. I stayed with my friend from the university, Amal. She is so super smart and educated and kind and a good Muslima. Masha Allah, May Allah grant her the success. I stayed with her and her family in their home there. It was amazing. I loved being with her lovely family and with her cute little cousins. I enjoyed the children the most out of everything in my trip. I wish I could have taken more photos. When I arrived, I had chocolate milk and homemade sweet bread. Then I met all of her family. Then we had a traditional Arabic dinner. It was sooo yummy. Amal's mom made for me Kufta and something very similar to Mansaf. I was in heaven. That evening the family took me to the mosque to pray. It was my first time to pray in a mosque in the middle east.

Then we went outside and looked for some stores that sell hijab. Then we went to buy Kanafa, my favorite dessert, but the pastry shop was out. Then when we were there, we chose a platter of baklawa and the pastry shop owner gave it all to us for free after he heard from Amal that I was Muslim. It was soooo kind of Him. Wao. Masha Allah. Then we went back home and sat around the table with the family on the patio and enjoyed the baklawa and talked religion. It was nice. The next day we woke up for fajr, it was the first time I ever prayed fajr with someone. Amal lead the salat. It was so cool. Then we had some toast with zatar and tea and headed for Al Quds.

On the way there, I saw the Apartheid Wall. It was very emotional to see that and how they have planted trees to make it seem like it's not there. But it is still unmistakable. That is just so against human rights. I noticed that in the country it is not like Palestine is in one part and Israel in another. The people are much more integrated than that. You only reall see the segregation within the specific towns. But among the gas stations and businesses and out on the streets its all interwoven, Arabic with Hebrew, Jew with Muslim. The tension between the people is not thick but definitely there. You can feel it when a Palestinian walks into a gas station and the worker inside gives him his change and says thank you. You can feel it everywhere. It's constantly on the tip of everyone's tongues too. You can't escape being impacted by what is going on there. It is a fascinating place, and at the same time, not just a place, it is a feeling, more than a feeling, an electricity, that forever stays with u once it has entered in you. You feel it from the moment you get off the plane. It is beautiful and at the same time shameful. Uplifting and at the same time depressing. It is the only place in the world like that. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to go there. I went with Amal to the Muslim quarter of the old city in Jerusalem and we had a nice breakfast of hummos and fuul.

When we arrived at the door to the plaza of the Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques, the Israeli Soldiers stopped us and asked if we were Muslim. They didn't believe me and asked to see my passport. I showed it to them and they said my name was Christian. I told them Christians can also become Muslim. Anyone can be a Muslim. Then he said sorry you can't come in very firmly. But then when I stood my ground he asked me if I could read anything from the Qur'an. I then recited Surat Fatiha to them. Their mouths dropped open as well as my friend's as she had never heard me before. Right away they let me in. I said thank you and good bye to them in Hebrew and we entered the plaza.

It was unbelievable to see the Dome of the Rock mosque in person. I could not believe I was standing there. It was so unreal. The most spiritual point of my life was this trip. It changed me forever. I prayed in both mosques. I also prayed under the rock. Then We left for the airport. When I arrived at the airport, I missed my flight and so I had to wait 9 hours for the next one. When I checked in with the airline, I got interrogated again by security and passed without a problem. I then passed my bags through the xray. I was just checking in with the counter when security came up to me and said I had skipped one of the security steps. I then went back and stood in line for another security checkpoint. I ended up being there for 3 hours. They were nice but they searched everything. They made me leave all my stuff there and took me to a room to search me. Then I went back and they had to make me rush to pack everything because they made me late for my flight. They had to escort me to my flight just so I wouldn't miss it. It felt so good to be on the plane to Jordan finally but I would not change my experience here for anything. AlhamdulEllah.

My First Experience in the Middle East

I can't believe I went to Al Quds, Jerusalem I was in Jerusalem!!!! This is unbelievable to me. I am still in awe. For my first half of the trip, I went to stay with the Jewish family that I knew from when I studied Jewish studies at the University of Washington through Hillel back in the day. I was really happy to have gone with my host family. They are sooo nice and kind and loving. I felt fortunate to have had the blessing and opportunity to see this beautiful country from the different perspectives. Not many people get to see things here the way I did. AlhamdulEllah. On my way there, I had a nine hour layover in Frankfurt. There was a prayer room there so that was really cool. Then I left for Israel.

The plane ride was interesting. I was the only hijab-wearing muslim on the whole flight. Everyone was looking at me. Some people were nice but most seemed a bit scared of me. It probably didn't help that I was also carrying a black tennis racket bag. It looked like a gun bag or something. When we got on the shuttle bus to go to the plane it was packed but no one sat next to me, except for a lady from Austria who had never been to Israel before. Then when I got on the plane I felt everyone looking at me again. But the person who was sitting next to me was really nice and we had a great conversation. He was from Madrid Spain, just doing business in Israel. A few people had asked me if I would be wearing hijab going to Israel and I was like yes. They told me to be prepared to be interrogated for many hours in the Israeli airport because of that. I do not believe a head cover to be obligatory but I do it to be modest and to remain in constant rememberance of God over me.

At any rate, I was prepared for ny interrogation or intimidation i might face at immigration, but little did i know I would get it at the door of the plane. Yes, there was Israeli security there waiting for me and not only that. They didn't just take me to a room, they interrogated me right then and there in front of all the passengers pouring out of the plane. It completely caught me off guard. They were very good at being patronizing and intimidating. But at the same time it turned out to be an educational conversation for both sides. AlhamdulEllah. I am glad I chose to face that, for many reasons, to better understand what others go through, to not have fear, and for many other reasons. I continued on to immigration and dealt with that a little bit there but not so much. Then I went through and the uncle of the family picked me up. I learned some more Hebrew on the way to the house. It was before dawn when I arrived. I stayed at the grandparent's house the first night. They were soooo nice. When I arrived, the grandma, who is also Mariam, had nexcafe and chocolate crossiants waiting for me. Then she showed me my room and let me sleep.

The next morning I had tea with the grandfather, Sholomo (Suleman), and he put mint leaves from his own garden in the tea. We had fun trying to communicate with the little Hebrew I know. Then his friend Moshe arrived who knows perfect Spanish. He is from Spain or North Morocco, I forget now. He has a daughter in NY and one in Puerto Rico. We talked about Islam for a while and about my country. Then Sholomo showed me his giant fish tanks and fish that he put together himself. Then I had lunch with fresh vegetables from their garden. I said the blessing as I know it from studying Judaism before. Then Mariam took me to see the kids I had known from internet. They were sooo cute. One of them, Arbel is the cutest little girl in the world. The other, Novat is an amazing piano player and he is only like 8 years old. He played a beautiful song for me. I played with the kids for a while and then I went to see Elad and his girlfriend at their house. I stayed with this family for the rest of the 3 days.

We went to Ashkelon to see the ruins of where Samson and Delila had been and we saw the marina of the Mediterranean sea. It was awesome. Then we saw the ruins of a Bizantine church built in the 4th century. It still had the prayer room and baptism pit. I had my first falafel sandwhich in the middle east here. I have to say it wasn't as good as the falafel I eat at Aladdin on the Ave near my university. That was interesting. I really loved the father of the family. His name is Moshe and the mom is Rachel. They were so good to me. I felt so comfortable with them. I miss them a lot.

Then came the day to see Jerusalem. Held sacred by many religious, Jerusalem is one of the most holy cities in the world. To the Jews it is Zion, the City of David and Solomon's temple, and the heartland of the Israelite nation. The Jews call this sacred site in Jerusalem's Old City Temple Mount after the temple built by Solomon in the 5th century BC to replace Herod's 10th century constructed temple. Herod's temple was destroyed by Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon who plundered the temple for the enshrined Ark of the Covenant. Since I was taken there by the Jewish family to sight see, I was limited to just seeing the Jewish quarter for my first visit, but they also go the courage to venture into the Christian quarter too.

First we went to the Holocaust Museum. I saw the photo I drew back in high school of three Jewish girls walking along the fence in a concentration camp. Then we went to the old city. It was absolutely amazing. I can't believe I walked where some of the prophets (Pbut) walked. Amazing!!!!! This is such a privilege. We drove through the small cobble streets and passed by many Armenian art and pottery stores. So nice. I didn't expect to see so much Armenian culture in Jerusalem. The old city is like literally going back in time except for the souvenirs. We walked around the city until we arrived at the weeping wall, which the family I lived with there called "The Kotel."
From wikipedia.org: Weeping Wall: Hebrew: הכותל המערבי, translit.: HaKotel HaMa'aravi), or simply The Kotel, is a retaining wall in Jerusalem that dates from the time of the Jewish Second Temple (516 BCE - 70 CE). It is sometimes referred to as the Wailing Wall (Arabic: il-Mabka), referring to Jews mourning the destruction of the Temple. The Western Wall is part of the bigger religious site in the Old City of Jerusalem called Har ha-Bayit (the Temple Mount) to Jews and Christians, or Al-Haram al-Qudsi al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) to Muslims. The Western Wall is revered for its proximity to the sacred Holy of Holies on the Temple Mount, which is the Most Holy Place in Judaism. This means that for Jews the Western Wall is the holiest location that is currently generally accessible to the Jewish people for prayer. There is a small area below ground level, called "The Cave", in the Western Wall Tunnel, that is closest to the site of the Holy of Holies. However, as this area is not amenable to the large groups that frequent the wall, most people limit their visits to the outdoor plaza. At any hour, Jewish men and women can be found praying at the wall, which is actually a large outdoor synagogue. As is traditional in Jewish synagogues, there are a number of holy arks containing Torah scrolls, tables for reading of the law and a mechitza, or divider, separating the men's and women's sections of the wall. When I was there, I prayed at the wall with the family and read from one of the prayer books. I also put a prayer petition on a piece of paper and stuck it into the wall as is tradition there. Looking closely at the wall, one can see hundreds of tiny, folded papers stuffed inside every space that will hold them, apparantley this tradition goes back 100s of years.

History

According to the Bible, the First Temple or Solomon's Temple was built in the 10th century BCE atop a pre-existing megalithic platform. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple was built in 516 BCE, the sixth year of the reign of Darius the Great (Ezra 6:15) and destroyed by the Roman Empire in the year 70 CE as a result of the First Jewish-Roman War.

According to Judaism's religious texts, when the legions of Titus destroyed the Temple, only a part of an outer court-yard "western wall" remained standing. Jewish texts teach that Titus left it as a bitter reminder to the Jews that Rome had vanquished Judea. The Jews, however, attributed it to a promise made by God that some part of the holy Temple would be left standing as a sign of God's unbroken bond with the Jewish people in spite of the catastrophes which had befallen them.

Hmm. Strange, I was going to add the video of my time at the Western Wall and I couldn't find it or that of the Israeli Army girl soldiers I took there. Strange. Hmmm.. I wonder where it went. All my other video is there. I saw it on my computer when I was still in Israel. Maybe something happened to them during my 3 hour stint in security at the Israeli airport when I was leaving??

Here's someone else's fun experience with Israeli Airport Security:

http://desertpeace.blogspot.com/2007/08/security-at-israeli-airport-experience.html

LOVE حب

Love... Some people say that there are different kinds of love. I say there is only one. Just as there is only one God. If it is true that God is love, and it is also true that there is only one God, then we could conclude that there is only one love. This would make sense if we considered the concept of love as something that cannot have a limit on it. Imagine a love with limits. What kind of love would that be then? I would like to think that all love is without conditions, that this is a necessary trait of love. It cannot be separated from the concept of love. You either love or you don't. There is no in between. If you consider God love, then this is all the more true, as you should see love as you see God, as something that has no limitations and that love never fails. It might go through your head the question, well, what about the difference between brotherly love and romantic love?? Surely they are not the same love. However, they actually are one and the same. You can love a friend, a sister, a mother, a wife, a teacher, anyone, and it is all love. The difference is not the kind of love. The difference is that with a wife you love her AND you are also attracted to her among other things while a teacher you might love AND admire and respect him or her. So the love is the same, it is the other elements that contribute to the different feelings. When we truly love, we would give our lives for those we love. Like Jesus pbuh said; "No man hath a greater love than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends." Now here we have a love, with no limits, not even death. Love is stronger than death, it is stronger than anything, it is of God and only of God and it is God. The greatest commandments that Moses gave to mankind, pbuh, was "Love the Lord Your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul. And love your neighbor as you love yourself."

1 Corinthians chapter 13 (TEV)

1 I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell.

2 I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains-but if I have no love, I am nothing.

3 I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned-but if I have no love, this does me no good.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
I Corinthians 13:4-8

The Holy Quran:

5:54

O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islâm), Allâh will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allâh, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allâh which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allâh is All­Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All­Knower.

3:31

Say (O Muhammad SAW to mankind): "If you (really) love Allâh then follow me (i.e. accept Islâmic Monotheism, follow the Qur'ân and the Sunnah), Allâh will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

The Webster Dictionary meaning of the word "Love" is:

"passionate, warm attachment, affectionate"

The Holy Qur'an lists these attributes describing God , along with much more ,
for example , in the Holy Qur'an , our Creator is addressed as:

"Compassionate , Merciful , the Helper , the Nourisher , the Generous , the Guide ,
the Loving (al-Wadud in Arabic often translated into English as "the Kind
One"), the Raiser of the Dead , the Patient"

Thus showing how the God of Islam which is the same God of Abraham , Moses and
Jesus , is in fact a God of Love .

Besides God being Defined as Love in the Holy Qur'an , we also see quotes of
how God Gives us Love in the Qur'an:

"... God loves the doers of justice." {Holy Qur'an 60:8}

"... God loves those who are fair (and just). " {Holy Qur'an 49.009}

" On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, will (Allah) Most
Gracious bestow love. " {Holy Qur'an 19:96}

"...God loveth those who make themselves pure. " {Holy Qur'an 9:108}

"... For God loves those who put their trust (in Him). " {Holy Qur'an 3:159}

God in the Qur'an also gives Love unconditionally:

"It may be that God will ordain love between you and those of them with whom
ye are at enmity. Allah is Mighty, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. " {Holy
Qur'an 60:7}

" And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among
yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love
and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect. "
{Holy Qur'an 30:21}

"...for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His
Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and
He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye
may be guided. " {Holy Qur'an 3:103}

" And He is the Forgiving, the Loving, " {Holy Qur'an 85:14}

The Qur'an reveals this false assertion that God only loves the Jews or the
Christians:

"And the Jews and the Christians say: We are the sons of God and His beloved
ones. Say: Why does He then chastise you for your faults? Nay, you are
mortals from among those whom He has created, He forgives whom He pleases
and chastises whom He pleases; and God's is the kingdom of the heavens
and the earth and what is between them, and to Him is the eventual
coming." {Holy Qur'an 5:18}

This is not a attack on either Faith , it only rebukes
the claims by Jews who say 'only the children of Israel
are the chosen people' or the Christians who say 'all
non-Christians are demons'

This verse is only explaining that we are all from God
and God loves us all .

"Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians,- any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness,- on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. " {Holy Qur'an 5:69}

There are many more examples but this is to demonstrate that
True Love is both equally given as well as taken . Let us love each other ,
stand together as partners , praying to God and enjoying the Love and guidance
manifested in the Holy Qur'an.

The Woman Caught in Adultery

I wanted to tell you about something that I found very interesting and inspiring. My mother, when she was younger than me, maybe about 18 or 19, was asked by one of the preachers to give a message from the Injil to the people on the Christian Radio to the thousands of listeners in Guatemala. When they asked her what teaching she thinks she might talk about on the radio, she simply says to them, I don't know. I trust in God and when I come to the radio that day, God will guide me with what I am to speak about. When she came to the radio station, she sat behind the microphone and flipped through her bible after her prayer. She saw many stories with good message to talk about, but she chose to talk about a story in the Gospel of John 8:3-11, the story about the prostitute that is very well-known among the Christians today because it has many important messages to the believers. As you will read below, it has a very meaningful and spiritual message, that became even more meaningful to me after I had studied it and listened to another person give a sermon about it; Mr. Ahmed Deedat. So you can get a better idea of what I will be talking about, here is the passage from that chapter:

8.2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 8.3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 8.4 they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 8.5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?" 8.6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 8.7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." 8.8 And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 8.9 But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 8.10 Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 8.11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."

I found it interesting to go back and read in the Injil (Gospels) after I had taken this class at the university about the Injil and the studies of the scholars attempting to find what may be historically attributable to Jesus' saying and life or not. Some scholars do not believe that there is enough evidence in the Gospels to attribute this passage to Jesus because it is only found in one Gospel (John) and that many scholars believe came later than the other Gospels, although they do not rule out that it could be that John had an additional source that may have been even older than the sources the other Gospels used to gather information about Jesus.
But in any case, whether it was or not, we might never truly know.

But my point is not whether it came from Jesus or not, but instead, my point is to show that this story may show us something true about the prophethood of Jesus and something that may show that this story is plausible within his historical context as well. It is also a positive message even if that is not the case after all.

Now that I have learned a little bit about how scholars analyze these biblical stories, I feel like I have an improved, more open-minded perspective on scriptural study, whatever book I may be studying.

Here we have this unnamed woman, there are many "unnamed individuals" in the Gospel by the way, and most are usually the "good guys" in a sense, which may have a symbolic message within itself, but once again I digress. Anyway, this woman had been caught red-handed essentially in the act of adultery. The elders were ready to give her the punishment and tested Jesus by asking him what he thinks they should do with this women who had been witnessed as adultering. They knew if he answered "kill her," he would have a problem. If he answered, "let her go," then he would also be saying something controversial. While one answer would be in accordance with the Torah laws, the other might be against Roman law as Rome was the colonial power at the time, and he could get into trouble with them. This is one example of something we would not have understood or picked up on had we not understood the historical context. But instead of answering their questions, he bent down and drew in the ground. And the passage shows that he spent time writing, more time than it would take just to write one word or make a doodle.

That is interesting in itself, but that only leads in to the point I want to make. The other day, I heard a message given by Mr. Ahmed Deedat, a Muslim teacher and scholar. He analyzed this same story from the Gospel of John. He made an interpretation and educated guess as to what Jesus may have been drawing in the sand that clicked than any other I had ever heard even from any Christian scholar or pastor or preacher or from anyone for that matter. It had a big impact on me to hear this interpretation. I had often asked myself, as many people might as they read this passage from John, what might Jesus have been writing in the ground? I have heard many interesting symbolic answers to this but none like that of Mr. Deedat.

He supported this interpretation by putting this story within the framework of the historical context of when and where this event could have happened. He reminded the listeners that in this time in Jewish tradition, it was completely normal and orthodox to have discussions and healthy debates over interpretation of Torah law. It was a healthy way for Jews to study religion in that time and even into today. Jesus practiced this and we find it many places in the Gospels, although many pastors explain this possibly erroneously as Jesus making outlandish arguments with the Jews or being at odds with Judaism.

If it is so that Jews often interacted this way within their community, then it might be expected that these Pharisees and scribes present, watching Jesus drawing in the sand ignoring their questions, would feel inquisitive about Jesus' actions and be compelled to ask him what he was writing. They might also find it strange that he was not engaging in their debate about the woman. It is not like Jesus would shy away from a testing question, there are many similar instances in the gospels where Jesus addresses similar types of questions.

Naturally, the eldest elder would be the one to approach Jesus first, just as it is stated in this passage. What Deedat proposed is that Jesus, being a prophet and knowing privileged information, may have been revealed about the sins of these elders, and their names. So it is plausible that he may have been writing each of their names and the sin they most recently commited, and since we are all imperfect, all of them had something to seek forgiveness for. As the first elder approached, he may have seen his own name staring him in the face in the dirt, with his sin written next to it. He may have been astonished and immediately convicted in his heart, and would naturally have taken off, hopefully to repent himself or to reflect on what he had witnessed. As the other elders saw this, possibly one by one approached Jesus, saw his respective name written and dropped his stone and walked away from judging that woman. What a powerful image.

What is even more astonishing is that this theory came from not a Christian or even a Jewish, but in fact from a Muslim scholar! The first time I hear such a powerful analysis of this passage and it was someone that was not even Christian. Needless to say this story always left me thinking. Many of the gospel stories are written in a way to make you think and reflect. There is a reason the writer of this story had Jesus doing something that was unexpected whether the story actually happened this way or not. This was done possibly for the very purpose of making this passage memorable or to elicit an active mental response and wake us up to reflecting on the message.

At any rate, I always say whenever reading scripture, it is important to reflect for oneself. We must use the brain God gave us to think as we read, to read actively in a sense and not passively as though you are reading a novel where each and every detail and message is explained for you and the conclusion is given clearly. This is not necessarily the case in scriptures. We must read and reflect. We must ask ourselves the hard questions we must question what we read and give it thought, not just read it through carelessly or superficially, or take what others have said and just accept it as fact, but at the same time learning what scholars have deduced is also helpful in expanding our perspectives and understanding.

My First Semester (فصل) at the University (جامعة)

AlhamdulEllah, I finally finished my busy quarter at the University of Washington. I love my university so much. I am very happy there, but this quarter was difficult especially because I took 4 classes at the same time and one of the classes was 4 hours everyday with 6 hours of study time everyday after school. But alhamdulEllah, I did well with them. Today I had my final exams. I had a very good experience this summer. I met a lot of nice people and made new friends. I learned a lot about religion and my Arabic is improved.

One of my courses this summer was the study of "The Gospels and Jesus of Nazareth (Al Injil wa Issa min Nazaret)." I learned about many of the scholars that attempted to learn more about the historical Jesus, based on the historical context he lived in and based upon the many texts and gospels that they have at their reach. I learned also about how the gospels may have been written and how scholars show what may have been added, changed or may actually be attributable to Jesus.

The Gospels consist of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. We also looked at some gospels that were not included in the bible we know today, such as the Gospel of Peter and the Gospel of Thomas. We studied about the theories that scholars have about which may be the phrases that can be best traced back to the time of Jesus from these texts. It was very eye-opening to learn about what people were like in Jesus' time and how they thought. It is so much more different than we would like to think. For example, within the historical context of Jesus' life, ritual animal sacrifice was not only normal but common throughout various groups, even pagans. Thus for the Jews to have this ritual for atonement and purity, it may not have seemed out of place at all.

On the other hand, something that is as common today as the Sabbath day, which is Sunday for most Christian sects and Saturday, Shabbat, for the Jews for the historical context of Jesus' lifetime, this observance of the Sabbath would have set the Jews apart from others and been a very curious custom for many outsiders. So this helps to show that it is hard to depict Jesus without really understanding the context in which he lived because we are looking through a biased lens and the knowledge of what happened after his crucifixion also can get in the way of getting a purer idea of what Jesus may really have been like and what his message consisted of truly and why he would have been crucified. At any rate, in a nutshell, it was a very fascinating class and I learned a lot.

The Shahada

2:136 Say: "We believe in God, and in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, and that which has been bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and ,their descendants, ^[111] and that which has been vouchsafed to Moses and Jesus; and that which has been vouchsafed to all the [other] prophets by their Sustainer: we make no distinction between any of them. ^[112] And it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves."

قُولُواْ آمَنَّا بِاللّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالأسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى وَعِيسَى وَمَا أُوتِيَ النَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ (2:136)

17:36 And never concern thyself with anything of which thou hast no knowledge: ^[45] verily, [thy] hearing and sight and heart - all of them - will be called to account for it [on Judgment Day]!
وَلاَ تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولـئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْؤُولاً (17:36)


I chose these two verses from the Holy Quran because they both relate to what I want to share with you about today.
It took me a while before I said the shahada even though with my heart, my mouth and with my heart I had the Muslim faith in me from the first time I heard a Surah from the Quran recited. However, I do not like to just accept what people say without any knowledge or reflection whatsoever. For example, someone can come up to you and say "do this!" Allah commands it. And yes, we should hear Allah's command and obey without hesitation, but when someone just tells you something, you should naturally study for yourself. Even if they say, its in a hadeeth or its in the Quran. We cannot tell Allah in that day that we did it because it was in the Quran because maybe He will ask us, really? Where in the Quran is that? Or, did you read it for yourself to make sure? Also, someone might tell you to do something that sounds correct and right, but that is against what is clearly stated in the Quran, then you owe it to yourself to reflect and investigate further before doing it. We all have to answer to Allah one day for everything we do here and now.

That is one reason Allah gave us the miracles of our minds. We cannot depend on others to feed us information on what to do and how to live, we must also do our own searching within our own ability. Just like the verse above states, we will be accountable for our hearing, sight, and hearts one day. So we cannot tell Allah that we used someone else's sight to get by in life. If Allah asks me, why did you do this or that? I want to be able to give him a good answer. I cannot just tell him "someone told me to do it." Sometimes it is hard not to just do what everyone else does, even within the religion. It has become a part of tradition that even when it might be wrong, people do it because everyone else does it. But we are Muslim and we must honor Allah's word and His laws and understand what they are. It is part of our duty as believers even if people persecute us for being this way. It is hard to go against tradition, but we will never make a difference if we do not stand for what is right. That is the only way things can change. Maybe if we trust in Allah to give us the strength, we can help other people to also see the truth.

When I heard what the traditional shahada was, based on hadith, it seemed to conflict with the shahada of all those mentioned in the Qur'an; the Queen of Sheba, Abraham (pbuh), Jacob(pbuh), Issac(pbuh), Ishmael (pbuh), just to name a few. It seemed when asked by Allah to submit to Him, they just said, "we submit to Allah", "We hear and we obey". That's all. Of course in different words, but that was the gist of it. And that made a lot of sense to me. It was a declaration of the faith in Allah and submission to Him, which is the essence of Islam. I had a lot of questions about it, but I did not concern myself with them because if Mohammad (pbuh) really did ask of us to say the shahada in this way, I cannot go against that. My only question that continued however, was something that I felt was going against the teaching from the Quran.

I thought to myself, why is the shahada I am expected to say, different from what others said in the Quran? I knew that it came from hadith, and I would have said it right away had it not been that based on what I had read in the Qur'an, that we cannot witness what we have not been present to see, how then could I say that I witness that Mohammad (pbuh) was Allah's messenger? It almost seemed blasphemous for me to say something like that when I never witness it myself. In English, to witness means to see something with your own eyes. For example, when you see a crime committed, you are a witness to that crime. Or when someone signs a contract, you sign your name also because you are with them as a witness. It seemed that it contradicted the Quran to say that I witness that because a few times in the Quran it talks about that Allah is the best witness, but Allah sees everything. I don't. However, as I did further study, I saw that the word in Arabic "shahada" has many related meanings, and may not necessarily mean the same thing as "physical witness." It can also mean to attest or to confirm, and to testify something that you see OR believe. Also, in one translation of a verse in the Quran it said that Allah is enough as a witness. When I read that, I thought, if he is enough as a witness, then why should I say that I witness in the shahada testimony? But in another translation, it said simply that there is no witness like Allah. And that makes sense, because Allah is the best witness, because he can witness what is inside our hearts. Who can say he can do something like that??? And if it is true that he is enough as a witness, then why does it say in Surah Baqarah in Ayat 143, that we can bear witness to the truth through our lives? So after that, I felt peace in my spirit that if I said "ashhadu ana...." it would make sense because I do attest to that, and I do believe in that. So, in conclusion, I said the shahada in Arabic just as most Muslims say it, but in English, i said it using I attest, and confirm.

I feel that the Quran was meant for all mankind and that it is our guide and yes, it is important to consult scholars and read and study, but I want to make it clear that I believe that we should use it and apply it to our lives. We should not be afraid of reading the Qur'an ourselves. Do you honestly think Allah would have made the book only for the smartest or most skilled people? It is for us all. Some people are scared to read it for fear or misunderstanding it or misinterpreting it. That is fine, but don't be afraid about it. Pray before you read, ask Allah for guidance and trust in His word. Yes the Qur'an is beautiful with millions of messages for us, but the Quran is also clear and complete. It helped me so much in so many ways until now and I continue to reflect upon it everyday. I also think it is wise to consult scholars on topics and use other sources for support, but I'm jut saying that the Quran is for us all and should be held higher than all sources of knowledge in the world. It is a miracle in itself and there is nothing that comes even close to it.

I said the shahada to my brother in Islam, Adnan, who is from Saudi Arabia of Turkish descent. He was the first person to teach me about Islam. He was so patient with me and he and his family helped me so much. He is wise, knowledgable, and humble and has a very big heart. May Allah bless them all.

Islam we have to remember has always existed even before the Quran was revealed. It is complete submission to Allah, just as it was for Ibrahim and Noah, and Jesus and Mohammad, peace be upon them and all the prophets. If you notice, a lot of times in the Qur'an it points to this important fact. We not only follow the faith of Mohammad (pbuh), but also of the very same faith as the believers before him. So when I became Muslim, I was taking up the very same belief I held before, only that now, I have the Quran as a guide and have believed in the prophet hood in Mohammad (phuh) who came after Jesus (pbuh) and served to help us increase in purity and by him were given the Quran from Allah.

Below I added some additional verses from the Quran that touched me.

4:122 Yet those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds We shall bring into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time: this is, in truth, God's promise - and whose word could be truer than God's?
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا وَعْدَ اللّهِ حَقًّا وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللّهِ قِيلاً (4:122)


4:124 whereas anyone - be it man or woman - who does [whatever he can] of good deeds and is a believer withal, shall enter paradise, and shall not be wronged by as much as [would fill] the groove of a date-stone.
وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتَ مِن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلاَ يُظْلَمُونَ نَقِيرًا (4:124)

4:125 And who could be of better faith than he who surrenders his whole being unto God and is a doer of good withal, and follows the creed of Abraham, who turned away from all that is false - seeing that God exalted Abraham with His love? ^[144]
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِّمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لله وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ واتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَاتَّخَذَ اللّهُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ خَلِيلاً (4:125)

2:130 And who, unless he be weak of mind, would want to abandon Abraham's creed, seeing that We have indeed raised him high in this world, and that, verily, in the life to come he shall be among the righteous?

وَمَن يَرْغَبُ عَن مِّلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِلاَّ مَن سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُ وَلَقَدِ اصْطَفَيْنَاهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَإِنَّهُ فِي الآخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ (2:130)

2:131 When his Sustainer said to him, "Surrender thyself unto Me!" - he answered, "I have surrendered myself unto [Thee,] the Sustainer of all the worlds."
إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ أَسْلِمْ قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (2:131)

2:133 Nay, but you [yourselves, O children of Israel ,] bear witness ^[107] that when death was approaching Jacob, he said unto his sons: "Whom will you worship after I am gone?" They answered: "We will worship thy God, the God of thy forefathers Abraham and Ishmael ^[108] and Isaac, the One God; and unto Him w;1l we surrender ourselves."

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أَمْ كُنتُمْ شُهَدَاء إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن بَعْدِي قَالُواْ نَعْبُدُ إِلَـهَكَ وَإِلَـهَ آبَائِكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَقَ إِلَـهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ (2:133)

Purification of the Heart

Salam
My class on Salat and Purification of the Heart was today. It went very well alhamdulEllah. The first class we reflected on a book by Hamza Yousef titled "Purification of the Heart." I enjoyed the talk. The girls brought up some important points about what this means for our life.

My point was that many of us Muslims can get caught up in the details of the rituals of the religion and trying to pursue excellence in them, and get lost in that. As a result, they end up losing track on what Islam is all about in the first place, glorifying Allah and submitting to Him. We become so preoccupied with doing wudu correctly or analyzing hadeeth and other actions that are good in and of themselves, but we forget to address what is in our hearts and how are we being towards those around us. As we fill our hearts with knowledge, we need to keep present what is the reason behind each thing we do and say. What is it that is driving us, as my Imam at my mosque in California, Sheikh Sadullah Khan would remind us to ask ourselves.

We must live Islam at every moment of our life, be constantly conscious and cognizant of God's presence in our lives and our role as his followers. It doesn't matter where we are in our knowledge as Muslims, how much we know at any given point along the line. What matters is we do our best with what we know at each moment to bring honor to Allah and make our best effort to pursue knowledge.

However, if we focus only on perfecting all the details on how to do this or that perfectly, we can risk forgetting that we are Muslims and God does listen to us and we can do things in the name of Allah even if all of what we do is not in perfect form or knowledge at one point or another. Otherwise we will have spent all are lives picking apart all of these things, but never took enough time to actually live day to day as a Muslim in how we interact with each other and reflecting on what is in our hearts and what goodness we can implant into them that would support our ability to worship Allah in all we do.

The point is to have a balance, between the pursuit of knowledge and consciousness of the condition of our heart and example towards others as Muslims. It's like this; I am just starting out as a Muslim, so there are a million things I still have to learn before I will get salat correctly, or do other things well. But I can't wait until I know everything perfectly to start living as a Muslim and applying what I know to my life.

Allah knows our hearts and I know Allah understands where I am now. We can all be kind to others and be compassionate and be patient and have faith in Allah and worship him and commune with Him no matter what level of knowledge we have in Islam now. At the same time we can work our hardest to increase in knowledge and ask Allah for help in this.

May Allah bring you success.

Finally at the University

AlhamdulEllah, I'm finally a university student. It has been a long road to get here, but here I am. I had been doing so well in my career and traveled so much for it that there was little chance for me to get my degree until now. I felt I could leave my career at this point safely since I had established a good foundation there so that I can go back to it if I would like to after graduating.

I had been living in California for the past two years and now I am back full time in Seattle attending the University of Washington with a 30 credit load this summer. It feels so great to be here alhamdulEllah. It is a real blessing. I pinch myself as I walk through campus everyday to make sure I'm not dreaming. I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be here. I love my teachers and all my classes. I am taking Intensive Arabic, Managerial Accounting, and Calculus. In a couple weeks I'll be starting a course about the Injil (Gospels). I am a junior, so I have about two years left.

I may go back to California after this quarter however, as I was offered a really really good career opportunity there just recently. But I wouldn't leave until after the quarter is over of course. I know it sounds a little crazy, but we have to go with the curves life throws at us, and take advantage of the opportunities when they are presented to us. If I don't take the job, which I will decide about this week, I will continue to complete my college education now.

I plan to study abroad this fall insha Allah and it looks like I would be studying in Kuwait in the university for one semester. I am very excited about that possibility too. I have to study abroad for one semester for my international business degree and while I'm there, I hope to improve my Arabic and study Islam on my free time.

Other than the university, I found a local mosque where I am taking a class about Salat and Purification of the Heart. I am also going to start in a class on the hadeeth on Thursdays insha Allah.

It is a small world. When I was planning to come back to Washington for the university back in December, I joined the Muslim Student Organization at the University and requested help in finding a Muslim girl roommate. I got an email from a young lady who was interested in being my roommate. However, the plan fell through because I decided not to go back to Washington until June. Just recently, I discovered that this same girl is the one who leads the classes I attend and she is soooo nice and wise. What a small world!!!! I am really happy we have become friends. I have made a few friends already through the classes at the mosque and at school. They are all very admirable people and I have a diverse community of friends forming that I am very thankful to Allah for. This is more than what I had envisioned for my social circle at the university. I feel very happy here, alhamdulEllah.

It is my first time going to school as a Muslim and it's very cool that people even in my Arabic class have expressed interest in attending the mosque with me to learn more about Islam, and that is without me saying anything to them about going, it has come directly out of their hearts. That is sooo cool. AlhamdulEllah. Some of my classmates also ask me questions about Islam and it is a great opportunity to share about it with others. It is cool to see people wanting to understand it and learn more about it. It reminds me of me when I was just starting to know what Islam was. I'm very happy for them that they have open minds and want to seek knowledge.

Knowledge is so key to life.

Take care my brothers and sisters. I love you all.

A Night of Qur'an "Turning to the Light"

Salam
Yesterday at the mosque there was an event for people who converted to Islam recently. I was surprised to see that most of the converts were from Latin America. I met a lot of nice people at the event. Many people including me shared their testimonies about how they found Islam. It was a very inspiring experience. After this event, there was another one about the Qur'an. It went until midnight with Qiyyam ul-Layl which is an 8 rak'at, late night prayer. There was a special guest who recited from the Qur'an too. We had a class about the Qur'an as a cure or remedy. Allah's word has healing powers. It was comforting to know that Muslims also believe that we have authority over sickness through the power of Allah. I learned that Muslims can lay hands even on themselves when they are in sickness or pain and recite from the Qur'an for healing. Faith is just as significant in Islam as in Christianity or Judaism. Faith is fundamental as is love. It was a wonderful Sunday. While I was at the event for converts, I picked up a few reading materials in Spanish for my family in Guatemala. They were curious about Islam. I'm excited to send it to them.

My trip to Guatemala

I finally went to Guatemala to see my family. It was the first time I had seen them since I became Muslim. They were so open to it and they were all very happy. I made du'a and recited Al-Fatiha for my grandparents at the cementary too. The trip was sooo nice. It went by too fast. I saw all four of my cousins. I love my family so much. Everyone is so sweet and admirable. I miss them so much. Guatemala is absolutely beautiful. The culture is amazing as well as the people as well as the food. I can't wait to go back. It had been so long since I last visited. We visited the mosque there. It is breathtaking. You can see my photos of my family and Guatemala at http://maryam.photoblog.com/
Be forewarned, most are just of my family cuz I was so excited to see them, I almost forgot to take pics of the country itself!

Quiz Show

Salam! My mom came with me to an Islamic event for the first time. I took her to a knowledge competition for Muslim college students. It was a lot of fun and the whole community was there. We watched as the students competed by answering tough trivia questions about Islamic history, Qur'an and Hadeeth. My mom and I both learned a lot. I also got the chance to introduce her to my imam, Sadullah Khan. It was a nice Mother's day. She really liked the experience.

It is Finished

Salam brothers and sisters,
I completed the reading of the entire Qur'an last night. Interestingly, I finished it the night before my big job interview which will involve one the biggest decisions I have made in my life. I have been offered a job as executive assistant to the head of a very respected company in Beverly Hills, California.

As I mentioned in a prior post, I set out to read all of the Qur'an. I finally finished it and it feels great to have taken that step. It helped me to get a more pure idea of what Islam is all about. Before reading all of the Qur'an, I had read many individual verses and chapters out of context, which was helpful and insightful, but I felt I was missing something by not first reading all of the Qur'an in order to get the whole picture. After reflecting on it, I realized there were many misconceptions I had about Islam.

Although the Qur'an is a very long book, it is written in a way that when you read all of it, you get the main tenants of Islam stamped into your heart. This is probably because it is very repetitive. Much of the Qur'an is just repetitions of a small group of main themes. It was different from the bible in that when you read all of the bible all the way through, you remember bits and pieces but since not much is repeated in the same way and it contains so many detailed stories and messages, it does not stick in your mind except for some key stories or strong verses. While when you read the Qur'an from start to finish, the messages are carried and interconnected throughout the entire course of the book, so you can bring up with pretty precisely certain key elements of Islam.

Some of the themes that are touched upon very repetitively in the Qur'an are:

• Salat
• Zakat
• Not ascribing partners to Allah
• Paradise
• The Disbelievers
• The People of the Book (Jews, Christians, Muslims)
• The Pious
• The story of Moses and the Pharaoh
• The story of Nuh (Noah)
• The Story of Lut (Lot)
• The importance of belief in one God and good deeds
  
• God knows what we do in secret and in public
• God is merciful
• Repentance
• A story about a she-camel
• Those who reflect
  

At any rate, these are just some of the topics off the top of my head from my memory. I was not expecting the Qur'an to be this way. I expected it to be more like the bible with millions of different messages, parables, and stories, each surah very different from the next. Yet, in a way, the repetitive messages throughout the suwar just seem to be a system for how the Qur'an is put together and to express key points about Islam with consistency so we truly grasp them. While on the surface, many of the suwar may contain similar messages, they each have a different angle and a wealth of many messages if one just reflects. I think that is the difference between one who just reads to read or just skims the surface of life, and one who truly reflects and digs deeper.

Surat Al Mutaffifin (Those Who Deal in Fraud/Those who give less in measure and weight)

(To view this Surah, just click on the link above and select Surat 83 Al Mutaffifin from the drop down menu on the right side of the site)
Salam brothers and sisters,

AlhamdulEllah I have good news, my financial aid for the university was re-instated. Today I had Qur'an class and we studied about Al Mutaffifin. My imam says it is one of the earlier surahs. This surah seems to deal with a fundamental aspect of Islam, social justice and social responsibility. My imam said that sometimes we forget what Islam is all about. We are so caught up in certain aspects of our religion that we forget its fundamentals that should be the drive behind our religious life.

The Qur'an inspires us to reflect. In this case, this surah is inspiring me to reflect upon what drives me, what is the passion behind what I do? This is in turn a reflection on our true principles, on our spiritual character. How do we reciprocate goodness to others? Or do we just expect it from others but do not push this also from ourselves? Are we just concentrating on demanding social justice from the world around us, but neglect to reflect upon what we are doing to contribute to that? Do we expect love and respect, but forget to reciprocate it? The very first part of this aya makes one stop and reflect on this important aspect of our lives.

"Woe unto those who give short measure; those who, when they are to receive their due from other people, demand that it be given in full but when they have to measure whatever they owe to others, give less than what is due!" - Surat 83:1-2

According to my imam, these earlier surahs address a lot of the issues relating to commerce and the practicalities but at the same time can apply to all aspects of life. I love this aya because it reminds me to be more self-aware of what I am contributing to the lives of others and to Islam, maybe I can give more than what I give. Maybe I give only as little as I can get away with. So this reminds me to make sure I avoid this and be more giving in all aspect of my life. It also reminds me to consider what it is that drives me and work on that. My love for Allah the stronger it is, the more I will be passionate about being this way at all times.
Salam

Qur'an Class

Salam everybody,
I'm still working on reading all of the Qur'an. It is going great so far alhamdulellah. It is a very eye-opening and exciting experience and with each aya I read as I proceed through it, I feel a sense of exhilaration as though I am just discovering a buried treasure. I have a hard time putting the Qur'an down when I read it. I am about 3/4 of the way through it. I feel the peace of Allah come upon me more and more the further I get along. It is almost a feeling of being cleansed or purged from the inside out as with each Surah I read, I am being removed of any misconceptions or erroneous ideas I had about Islam before reading all